Agent Jaden Korr
by Julianne Graham
Summary: Jaden Korr is an Agent of The Organization. Her job is to destroy and protect others from Vampires. What will she do now that she has become one of the beings she's been taught to kill? R&R please...
1. Intro

"What do you want with me?" the woman asked, attempting to hide the tremble in her voice.

"We want what all our kind want of you," the brunette vampire said, he smiled wolfishly at her, and the blood drained from her face. Her eyes shifted from right to left, searching for a way out. She obviously was hoping that her fear and desperation couldn't be seen on her face.

But it did show, and the vampires could taste it in her breath. The blond haired one shifted his weight, and swallowed the saliva building up in his mouth. He could taste the woman's life in the air, flittering on the breeze. He only needed to make a single move, and all the life flowing through her veins would be his, but at what price? His Mentor would be furious for jumping the gun, and embarrassing her in front of her superior. So the blond haired man waited, waiting for his turn.

As the brown haired vampire sensed the pupil of his own apprentice growing uncomfortable, he sighed inwardly. 'He is as impatient as a child waiting to open presents on Christmas morning' he thought to himself. He pulled a photograph from his pocket, the woman cowering before him winced as if he had pulled out a knife, and held the picture before her face. "Do you know who this is?" he asked her.

"Yes," she said in the smallest of whispers.

"Tell me who she is," the brunette man said. The woman, with tears on her face whimpered and shook her head. "Tell me!" the man snarled, seizing her by the throat. He lifted her so that she stood upright, and as she gasped for air he murmured, "tell me, and your death will be all the quicker."

Tears streaking down the layer of grime she'd earned from lying in the dust, the woman whispered: "Jaden Korr."

"What can you tell me about her?" He loosened his grip on her throat.

"She's an Agent in the Organization," she gasped, "Her father was the Chief Commander who was killed a year ago by The League of Danall. She was the youngest graduate from her year in the Academy. No one has done as well as Korr, ever. The people love her, for everything she's done."

The man smiled at her and asked, "that is all you know?"

She nodded, "Are you going to hurt her?" the woman asked, her voice desperate.

"You won't know if I do, I assure you!" the brown haired vampire murmured in reply. He released his hold on her neck, and turned away with the tiniest nod to the blond man, who surged forward, pinning the woman against the wall, and she gasped as he sunk his razor sharp teeth into the soft skin of her throat…


	2. Meet Agent Korr

Jaden awoke with a start, tasting blood in her mouth. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and, propping her elbows on her knees, held her head in her hands. It was another dream. Just like the ones before, the ones she could reveal to no one, dreams of mutilation and death, and feelings of sick enjoyment.

Why did she have such dreams? She wondered as the light from the late afternoon sun crept in through the curtains. Was there something wrong with her, some evil spirit that possessed her in her sleep? She stared down at her hands, thinking, wondering, probing her very soul.

The alarm clock rang, startling Jaden out of her stupor. It was an hour and a half before sundown; time to get ready for work.

She stood up, and walked across her tiny bedroom to the bathroom to shower. When she glanced in her mirror, she noticed a streak of blood down her chin. She must have bitten her tongue again in her sleep again – a more and more regular occurrence. Jaden wished, for the thousandth time, that the dreams, the biting, and the emotional problems would stop.

Jaden showered, dressed and ate without thought, or many thoughts that is. She was thinking of when Johnston got hurt, and the strange feeling she felt when she touched his blood. What was she? Why did she have such urges? Who was she?

Jaden tried to force the thoughts from her mind; she needed to get to Command Center; she needed to get to work.

Since she was eight, she has worked with the Organization. Starting out as a Junior Trainee, advancing a year ahead of everyone else to become a Senior Trainee, and then becoming an Apprentice, under the mentorship of Karol Jameson, one of the top female Agents. Jaden remembered the day that she lost the rank of Apprentice, becoming a Junior Agent. She was fifteen at the time, a full two years younger than the youngest of her peers. She remembered her father, the Chief Commander, beaming with pride as he presented her with her Junior Agent's Medallion. That was three years ago. Before she was promoted for acts of bravery; before she was forced to protect people old enough to be her grandparents, by herself; and it was before her father died in her arms, his blood flowing out of him, as the light faded from his eyes.

The rest of the late afternoon passed in a haze, she when through her usual motions in a trudge. Still dwelling on her dreams. As the sun was beginning to sink below the tops of the skyscrapers that lined the horizon, she left her apartment, dragged her feet down to her automobile, and drove off to the Command Center.

In the changing room, she accessed her locker by leaning her head against it, resting her hand on the fingerprint ID pad, and mumbling a pathetic "Jaden Korr". The door swung open; she pulled off the sweatshirt she had on over a black tank top, and began to pull on her under-armor. The under-armor had become more a necessity of late, as the League of Danall was expanding its territory again, so they often used weapons that would really hurt a human if it could reach the skin. Once she'd donned the under layer of armor, she began to wrestle the over layer of protective gear, which consisted of: a bullet proof and laser resistant padding vest; a utility belt that had its pockets full with grenades, various antidotes, various poisons to go with the antidotes, a ray gun, a small handgun and cartages, and a small first aid kit; a communication ear piece; and a neck brace that served as a microphone for the communicator and as a protection against vampires who got too close.

Jaden had just attached the heavy belt, when the door opened and some of the other Agents came in. one of them, a young man who'd graduated from the Academy in the same year as her, sauntered over to her and said in an undertone, "Jay, the Chief wants to see ya. Now."

Jaden looked up at him, a look of disbelief on her face. "Are you serious?" she asked, "can't it wait? I'm about to head out of here."

"Sorry Jay, but he said that he wanted to see ya before ya went out."

Jaden sighed, and slammed her locker shut. "I'm going," she said wearily. She headed off from the changing room to the Chief Commander's office. She hadn't been there for nearly fourteen months, but she would never forget the way to her father's office, even if it meant walking through the labyrinth that was the halls in the Command Center.

She reached the Chief's office after a near twenty minutes of weaving through the maze of hallways. She walked into the entrance, the secretary, a different one than the one she'd seen on her last visit, smiled and said, "The Chief Commander will see you right away, Agent Korr," nodding to the door, "you can go right on it."

Jaden nodded bluntly, and stiffly walked into her late father's former office. He glanced up from the notes he was writing and said, "Ah, good, Thompson found you before you left. I had hoped he would."

"Might I inquire for what reason I was brought here, sir?" Jaden asked, formally.

"Um, right. Well, as you know Jaden, tonight is the first class that the Academy Fresh Apprentices will have on coping with working in the field, and I was hoping that you could go there and maybe add some support."

"I thought that Karla Dawson was running the class. I don't see why I would have to go, she is a very competent teacher." Jaden replied, curious.

The Chief Commander looked at the paperwork on his desk, and said gravely, "Agent Karla may have been contaminated."

Jaden gasped, "when? How?" she asked, genuinely shocked.

The Chief rubbed his eyes and said, "Last night, as her partner says, they had heard a disturbance in a neighbor-hood, about ten minutes to the dawn, and they split up to block off the culprits, after a few minutes, he heard her scream for help, but when he reached her, there was a bite in her neck, no Vampire to be found, and she was bleeding unstoppably. There was a corpse of a woman nearby, also the prey of a Vampire. This afternoon, at about one o'clock, the wound unexplainably healed without a scar. We believe that she was contaminated at the scene, and she in currently in quarantine."

"So why call me here?" Jaden asked, though she believed she already knew the answer.

"We need a teacher," the Chief replied, "someone who can relate to the kids, one who can help them learn what they have need to know to be an Agent."

"But sir," Jaden protested, "some of the students may be only a year younger than me, if not the same age. How will they respect me if I'm having to look up to see their faces and when they know I'm younger."

"Jaden, you are a respected Agent for your deeds, and that is who they'll see. The Agent, full of wisdom and experience." He said kindly.

Jaden sighed, "how long to I have to teach for?" she asked, giving in.

The Chief Commander gave a sort of relieved smile, that he smothered almost before it completely formed, and said, "it would only be with this grouping: so three, four weeks tops. Then we will have found someone to replace Karla if she is not well by then. Your class starts in an hour and a half, and it is in Compound 3, section B2, room 127; you are dismissed." Jaden nodded her head, and turned to leave, "oh, and Agent Korr…" the Chief Commander called after her, she halted and turned to hear him say, "Thank you again."

She nodded again, and said, "you're welcome sir," softly, as she closed the door behind her.

Jaden, not wanting to have to walk, boarded the Center's Tran-Compound Shuttle, and rode it to Compound 3. She still had more than an hour until the class started, but it took her nearly a half hour just to find the classroom. It had been nearly four years since she'd been in the Apprentice classes. She'd forgotten how isolated the class was. If one was to look at a map of the Command Center, a large town in size, Compound 3 would be located nearly off the map. The Apprentices were kept away from the Agents and the Officers because if a Vampire got to an Apprentice, which was much more likely than one getting to an Agent or a Officer, then the Apprentice may be able to access information that could be lethal to The Organization. A case proven in history, when an Apprentice was influenced into nearly killing the Chief Commander. Nowadays, students seldom meet with Agents in private, and almost never with Officers.

Jaden halted outside the Apprentice Equipment Supply Office. She had an idea, but she'd need to change, and see if there was an Agent free off of Day Shift. She had the perfect way to see how good of Agents her new pupils would become.

The idea still fizzing in her head, she hurried to the Off Duty Station Lounge, where some Day Agents hung around at shift change. It was only a quarter of an hour after sunset, so some may be slow when changing. Just as she rounded the corner into the Lounge, she spotted the perfect person to help her. Seeing that he was about to walk out the entrance doors, she yelled out "Agent Green!" and ran to catch him.

Upon hearing his name, Tom Green, a graduate from a different Academy, but still a good friend of Jaden's, turned and, seeing it was Jaden, smiled. "Hey Jay." He said happily, "sup?"

Jaden, putting on a sly face, she asked, "you remember how I was your date to your sister's wedding?" Tom nodded, "well, you owe me, and I need a favor" she said, with a small smile…


	3. Meet James

James let the body fall to the ground. He closed his eyes, heart hammering, savoring the sweet, hot blood he'd just drank. Humans were the best to feed off of when they were so afraid that they realized that there was no hope in attempting to fight; that it was better to let death embrace them in its cold clutches, than to fight and prolong the agony of dying.

He blinked rapidly and shook his head, trying to free his mind from the Lust for blood that, if not kept in check, could lead him to kill the woman standing behind him as well. Still breathing heavily, he opened his eyes, and for an instant the iris was as crimson as the blood on his lips, but he blinked several more times, and the red faded to a piercing, ice-blue.

"Is that what you want?" he asked hoarsely of the woman. "Is that what you wish me to do? You want to be able to "relate" with me, and that is what you wish for?" The woman, obviously terrified of the random killing her wise and omnipotent master had just committed, shook her head. James looked at her with a fake expression of incredulousness, "But I thought you just said that you "wished to be closer" to me," he commented in false disbelief, "what was it you said? Ah, yes, 'James, let me share in your pain, make me, let me feel as you do.'" As he spoke he was advancing on her, his voice soft, but there was no disguising the loathing and anger in it, though the foolish girl couldn't sense it.

She shook her head again, whimpering that she didn't mean what she said, that she was sorry, that she didn't understand what she was implying.

"Get out of my sight!" James snarled, seizing her by the scruff of the neck and casting her out the door. To the Vampire who stood guard across the hall, James simply said, "keep her alive until I decide what to do with her." Other set of Faithfuls appeared and dragged the crying mortal away, and James jerking his head towards the body on the floor in his room said, "And get rid of that body by the time I get back!"

He slammed the door to his rooms, and stalked off down the corridor.

After a few hours of hunting, James returned to his chambers.

He had thought long and hard of how to work out his newest assignment. It would be difficult, and the woman they had been trying to access could be the wrong girl; but he knew how to prove, once and for all, whether the girl was the one or not.

He called to his personal Faithfuls to bring in a man who had been causing him trouble for a while. James settled in the seat behind his desk, to wait for the man.

The young man appeared, breathless and panting. James eased out of his chair and stood so he leaned against the front of his desk, appearing casual, in a sinister way.

The young man bowed and said, "I was asked for, my lord. What service can I provide?"

James smiled, he loved it when the arrogant were benevolent. He said simply, "I have a mission for you."

The young man frowned but remained silent as James explained it to him. When he was done, the man left and James contacted the laboratories, informing them of what he was planning.


	4. Find the Teacher

_**ya...sorry its such a long story...i don't really know how to write a short one! lol...enjoy**_

All was arranged, except one thing. Jaden, seeing that she still had about forty-five minutes left until the class, she jogged back to the Apprentice Equipment Supply Office, and smiled kindly at the secretary inside and said, "I was wondering if you could help me."

"What do you need, Agent?" the woman asked, giving a perky smile, that Jaden couldn't help but notice, that looked totally fake.

"Well, I have an idea for the Apprentice Class I'm teaching tonight, but I need an Apprentice uniform to be able to do it. Do you think I'd be able borrow one for the evening?"

"Um…" the secretary said, biting her lip, "it should be okay, but I'll have to rent it out to you." She got to her feet, and walked over to a filing cabinet and extracted a form. "It was only for tonight, right?"

"Yes," Jaden replied, nodding her head, taking the rental form, filling it out and returning it with a "Thank you, very much."

The woman's eyes grew large behind her thick lense glasses as she read Jaden's name. "Well, Agent Korr," the woman said, her voice now full of warmth, "lets go try on a uniform, shall we?"

She led Jaden into a back room, full of clothes, took some from the shelves, and handed them to her, pointing to a changing room. Jaden shed all her Agent's gear, and pulled on the Apprentice's outfit.

She surveyed herself in the mirror; she looked exactly like an Apprentice. Perfect. With a very generous thanks to the secretary, who stated that she had been "happy to oblige lending out the uniform to such an esteemed Agent," and strode out into the hall. Things should work out perfectly!

She hurried to her class, keeping her head down, lest someone recognize her, and when she reached the room, she was pleased to see about ten people already there, waiting obediently until someone came to open the door. Tom Green arrived about three minutes later, unlocked the door, and let the students in. He and Jaden avoided the other's eye, lest their collaborations be discovered.

Jaden dropped into a seat in the large amphitheater that was about four rows back from the front. The class was small, but not so small that someone couldn't pass her over as a former Trainee of another Academy. A hansom young man of about 18 dropped into the seat beside her. He extended his hand and said, "I'm Nick."

Jaden smiled, returned the handshake saying, "Kayla...So, what Academy are you from Nick?"

"Me? Well, I'm from McClain Memorial. You?"

"Denison Commemorative." She answered, lying smoothly.

"Cool," he said, nodding his head, "my cousin went there."

"Really?" Jaden said, faking interest, "what's his name?"

"_Her _name is Carol-Lee," he replied.

"Ah, I remember Carol-Lee, she's a very nice girl." Jaden said, adding a smile as if she was reminiscing.

Just as Nick was about to reply, Green spoke up saying, "Apprentices, good evening! Unfortunately, the regular teacher of this coarse is ill, so another has filled her place. Let it be known that there are two imposters in this room…"he paused to let the murmurs of curiosity dull back down, "…I am one of these imposters, the other one is your teacher. You have until the end of class to find this charlatan…begin." Upon saying this, the room erupted with a din of excited teenagers.

Nick turned to Jaden and said, "who do you think it is?"

Jaden made a gesture of uncertainty, and said, "I dunno…but I'd like to know how some old fart is disguising himself among us."

"Maybe it's a younger guy." He suggested.

"I guess," Jaden replied with a shrug of indifference.

"How about that guy?" Nick said, gesturing to an older looking teen sitting up at the back, the only one not animatedly talking with anyone else, "he looks like he's older than us by a couple of years."

"Ya, you're right." Jaden said, "Maybe you should say something to the teacher."

"But we don't even know who the teacher is!" Nick said, sounding exasperated.

"Well, I meant the guy who's standing at the front of the room"

"Oh," Nick said, blushing slightly, "good plan. I'll go do that." He got to his feet and swaggered down to the front of the class, the Apprentices he passed falling silent, and when he reached Green's desk, he said, in a voice loud enough for the whole class to hear, "I think that that man, sitting in the back is the real teacher!" and he pointed to him. Green smiled ruefully, and got to his feet, leaning on the desk on his finger tips and asked the man at the back, "are you the teacher, young man?"

The man looked around, as if unsure that he was being addressed, then looked back, eyes wide and shook his head.

Green looked back at Nick and said, "there you have it Apprentice, take your seat."

A girl across the room stood up and cried, "I think its him, because he pointed out someone else to throw suspicion off himself!"

Nick looked shocked and said, "I assure you that I am not the teacher."

The class continued on for another half an hour, with accusations thrown back and forth, none of them true, until finally, the young man first accused got to his feet, and yelled at the class to shut up. Everyone, shocked to hear him talk for the first time, turned to stare at him. He looked around at them all and stated, "why don't we just break up into our graduating classes, then we'd be able to single out the person immediately." Green looked up at the young man and smiled, "that is a wonderful idea."

A girl stood up and cried, "all graduates from McClain Memorial over here!"

Another one stood and shouted "Aphrodin over here!"

A young man stood up and yelled, "Kazinyall here"

And a pair of twin girls and a boy who looked close to the same stood up and yelled in unison, "Denison!"

In less than three minutes, the four schools were broken up. Jaden had managed to slip into the group from Aphrodin, and she simply hunched in the back of the group. Finally, a girl, about a year or so older than Jaden, turned and said, "who are you? I've never see you before." As everyone turned to look at Jaden, she pulled out a stun gun, and put it to the identifier's forehead. Jaden smiled pleasantly, saying, "Congratulations class, you have all…" she paused, the smile on her face held for a moment, then it slipped away to a glare, "…died!"

She walked down to the front of the class and said in an undertone, "thank you Tom, we're even now!" she turned back to her class and said, in a dangerous voice, "that was terrible! If I was a Vampire or an assassin, I could have killed at least two of you in the time it took for you to figure out who I was!"

She paused again, as she saw all her pupils flinch, and then continued saying, "this lesson, all of you have failed, except for the young man who was first accused, he passes, because he thought the matter through, instead of calling out useless accusations! My name is Jaden Korr, perhaps you know that name."

There was a sort of shocked silence, which broke into one large conversation, and Jaden could tell they were all beating themselves up for not recognizing her. She decided that to make herself look more official, she took off the Apprentice's Over-robe she was wearing, and draped it over the back of her chair. She then settled into the chair, pressed her fingertips together before her, and sat back, waiting for the clamor to subside. The noise quieted down quite quickly.

"It seems that we need to work on identifying imposters and assassins," she said, calmly, straightforwardly, as if she were talking about nothing important. "I am most disappointed," she stated as she rose to her feet and walked over to the note-board, "here are the main things you look for, when trying to identify an imposter…" as Jaden began to write the points on the board, and her students scrambled to find note paper, a thought crossed her mind, _this is harder than I thought it would be_…


	5. The Trap is Set

James sat in his interviewing chambers, feeling bored out of his mind. A messenger that was supposed to meet with him a half an hour before had yet to show up, _what could the imbecile be doing?_ James mused, _if he is off with some human, I will skin him alive!_ Just as he was thinking this wonderfully gruesome thought, the door burst open, unannounced, and a young man strode in. Well, young in a matter of appearance; this particular "young man" was in fact nearly eighty.

Looking flustered, he bowed to his superior and blurted out "Keith has not returned from his hunt; Jaden Korr hasn't been seen except for her walking into Command Center at the beginning of shift; and Karla Dawson was attacked just before sunrise this morning!" this statement was all run together into a jumble of words, so James had to pause to think about the information just thrown at him.

He raised an eyebrow, "obviously all these events are linked. Keith, fearing the sunrise, caught Agent Dawson off guard, and fed off of her; her partner most likely stumbled across Keith, and killed him. Also, the Organization Apprentices start classes today, so, Karla, who was either killed or quarantined, was unable to teach, hence, Jaden Korr is sent in to play grown-up." He paused, "Report this to Collette and be gone with you," he said waving him away with his hand.

"Yes milord," the man said, bowing and hurrying out of the room.

James swiveled his chair around, and stared out the window as the half moon shone in. He had a great many doubts about the orders issued to him; whether they were worth it or not. His Master claimed that this girl, whoever she was, would be the most powerful Newborn to ever be turned, with her power swelling with every kill, but James wasn't quite sure if he wanted to be the one forced to mother her, if she was so powerful. If she were truly that powerful, it wouldn't be all that long after her transformation before she could overpower him. He wondered if he should stop looking for her, to give up the foolish quest of corrupting an Agent of such status, but his plans were already in motion. He bit his lip, uncertain of what to do. He could call back the man he'd sent out, but could he afford to? Would calling him back be foolish?

James got to his feet and swept out of the office. He decided needed out of the compound; he needed to feel the moonlight upon his skin, for that was the only light he dared face. He ventured around in the dark alleys, keeping away from the couples, snuggling and snuffling in the corners, and finally he spotted a victim upon which he could prey. She was a small woman, barely more than five feet tall, and she had the nerve to walk around in the territory of the League of Nichelle, alone, at nearly two o'clock in the morning.

James knew better than to attack her, no woman of such size _would_ be out that late on her own, which meant that she was bait. But for what, or whom, James couldn't be certain. All he knew was that if he attacked and fed, it would be the last time he ever would.

Swift and silent as the shadows around him, James crept away from the woman, and slid through the shadows to another alleyway, and waited, watching, seeing if some idiot would fall into the trap.

Surely enough, about an hour later, a young man (the Faithful James had just assigned to an important task in the capture of the Agent they sought), scuttled along the alley, and suddenly lunged out at the girl. She whirled around, pulled out a tazer gun, and stunned the poor bastard. From the shadows around her, about three Agents melted into view. James smiled and chuckled softly to himself. He did not like the boy, and the boy knew she was bait for an Agent's trap, which was why he went for her, but James loved that arrogant, annoying boy had gotten tazered in the process. Things were going perfectly. His man was now in the care of the Agents, who would surely want information from a Nichelle Faithful, which meant calling in the best interrogator. The plan's progress could not get much better than it was.

James, still smiling, vanished into the night, and, before sunrise, had fed off a teenaged boy, who'd believed himself so invincible that he wouldn't come across a vampire at four in the morning, and returned to the compound, and was laying back in his bedchambers, shutters drawn, ready to sleep another day away…


	6. A Visit From Agent Mackie

**_2 weeks have passed since the last chapter...don't worry...the action is coming close to starting...lol...i'm sorry the story is so long...  
oh, ya...the League of Nichelle and The League of Danall are Vampire groups...Faithfuls are humans who serve Vampires, whether its the League or the Vampire personally, it is a rule that Vampires are to protect their Faithfuls and they're not allowed to feed off of them unless the Vampire or League has been betrayed or disobeyed by the Faithful...um ya...please don't stop reading...please..._**

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Jaden slumped down in her bed. It was only two hours since she had gotten away from her class, and for some reason, she felt that she would have been less tired if she had been out doing her rounds!

The class was a disaster! The Apprentices seemed brain dead, and Jaden could now see why the Chief Commander practially begged her to teach them. The students were, as a whole, terrible at grasping simple concepts that Jaden took for granted every day. They missed seeing the point in checking behind things when then entered a room in which they'd just captured a vampire, to see if there was another in the room. Jaden truly admired Karla Dawson if she was able to put up with such imbeciles.

She was almost asleep, when there was a pounding at the door. Jaden groaned, swore and rolled off her bed. Tiredly, she opened the door, and her tired expression instantly turned to an alert one. Senior Agent Mackie, head of the division she was in, was standing in her doorway, though more composed about it, looking as tired as Jaden felt.

"Agent Korr," Mackie said in greeting, nodding his head.

"Sir," Jaden said, with a more vigorous nod, "is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, there is," he replied, "may I come in for a moment?"

Jaden, confused, said, "of course," and stood aside so he could enter. She blushed slightly as she was sure Mackie's eyes fell on a pile of laundry that sat on the futon, with a stack of bras and underwear on the top. "Do you want to sit down? Or have something to eat or drink? I could make coffee." She said, trying to cover her nervousness of having a superior Agent in her own house, by being hospitable.

Mackie shook his head and said, "Though I would love some coffee, there isn't enough time for either of us to have anything. We need you back at the compound immediately. We have captured a Nichelle-Faithful and he's not cooperating, so we need you, as you are our best interrogator." Jaden blushed, "its true!" he insisted forcefully, "We believe that he may be carrying information and that he could help us as an insider in the Nichelle's inner circles. You may be needed to question him." Mackie got to his feet and said, in a stern, commanding tone, "I expect you at the Compound in a half hour," and he added in a kinder voice, "I know you're tired, but please do the best you can." And he turned on his heel, and strode out of the apartment without another word.

Jaden remained sitting on her couch for about a minute, staring at the door, mouth hanging open. Did Senior Agent Mackie, the iron faced manager, just show compassion and give her a compliment? She went over the conversation in her head, just to be sure; indeed he had. Amazing!

She jumped to her feet, pulled a newly washed shirt on, found a new pair of socks, as she had stepped in a puddle of milk earlier that day, and she walked out the door in a daze.

She reached the Compound with ten minutes to spare. Mackie was waiting for her, along with the Chief Commander. Jaden bowed courteously to them and followed as they led her to a high security interrogation room. Jaden sincerely hoped that she would be unneeded and that she could soon go home.

They wove through the labyrinth that was the detention area, to get to the Faithful's cell. They rounded the last corner, and Jaden peered through the clear panel, that looked like the rest of the wall from the other side, in at the man whose fate she may be about to seal…


	7. Analysis of Andrew

**_I'm so sorry people...i accidentally labled the things wrong on my computer and put in two copies of chapter 6...this is the actual chapter 7...sorry again_**

**_peace...Julianne_**

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James entered the concrete holding cell, coming upon Andrew, apprentice of his own former student, feeding. He knew the boy well, as the young man had come with him on the mission to find out about the identity of the girl he needed to locate. They had managed to compile a possible image of the girl, by putting the pictures of her parents together with computer generation. They were able to come up with a girl who looked exactly like a prodigy Agent. James was quite pleased with the progress he had made with the searching for the girl.

James watched, pleased as Andrew breathlessly burrowed into the human's neck, and James could feel the control of the boy's emotions flooding from him. Andrew stepped back from the body, moving aside for his teacher to feed as well, which delighted James. Most Newborns couldn't contain themselves, and would drink their kills dry, leaving nothing for their masters, or not drink enough, making it still possible for the human to live.

James watched Vanessa hungrily as she fed off the last of her student's kill. He was fond of Vanessa, and he held her in close confidence, for she was one of his first Turns, and there was little about him that she did not know. As he watched her drink, James longed to show such reckless abandonment of his composure. But a good leader only does what can frighten only if it is truly necessary; and, unfortunately, scaring a newborn with acts of savagery, wasn't a necessity; though it was fun to watch. This particular student was leaning back against the wall, flushed and panting, with a look of such ecstasy, James could have sworn that he'd just had the best sex of his life, had he not know the reasoning for the young man's thrill. The young man opened his eyes, and saw that James was staring, blushed and looked away, closing his eyes once more. _Newborns are so sensitive_! James thought to himself, with an inward smile. "Enjoying yourself Andrew?" James asked of the novice Vampire, allowing a hint of a smile to play on his lips.

Andrew, the student, his face still flushed with excitement, nodded vigorously. He was panting as if he'd just run a great distance, but the effect was from the human life racing through his veins, a truly invigorating experience. Newborns were always the funniest when they could kill by themselves, but still needed a Master to make sure they didn't leave the mortal to live.

Andrew was certainly a promising student, though not ready to be completely left on his own. It was nearly two years since his turn, and he was doing splendidly; some didn't even wake up until this point, and here was Andrew, a killing machine already. James had never been more proud. Vanessa's boy was, though not all that different than the original human, was progressing well. Most Newborns still held onto the notion that humans were hard to kill or something like that, so they had to be drawn in by their Blood Lust, using trickery, or by forcing the blood down their throats until they drank it themselves. But Andrew, he done his first feeding after a mere week of awakening, and that was coaxed along with the slitting of the humans wrists, drawing him from across the room, but ever since, he'd done it on his own, and Vanessa had just had to feed of the last small amount that he left, an amount that reduced with every kill. He now had enough control to step away after drinking only half, to offer it to his master. He was the poster-child of all Newborns, so it seemed. As a former drug lord and a ringleader in one of the city's mobs, The Grey Wolves, Andrew was used to death; he embraced it, and drank it in. Andrew also already knew to hate the Organization, and so poisoning him against the rest of the human race was child's play.

Vanessa dropped the corpse of the unfortunate mortal; it was drunk dry. She grinned a bloody smile at the two men and stepped over it as she swept out of the room, telling a slightly nervous Faithful to clear away the body.

James motioned for Andrew to follow his master, and he left behind him, paying no more attention to the Faithful than the dead body behind him. But he could see that the presence of the Faithful caused Andrew to shudder, as many newborns did in the presence of mortals. That was the only flaw in Andrew, his senses were still overly receptive around humans, and his Blood Lust would spike if there was one that he could see or feel close by. James noticed that Andrew hung his head slightly and he saw his jaw clench, and a wave of anger swept over him. _Patience, young one_, James thought, _patience. Soon your flaws will vanish_


	8. The Interrogator

Behind her, the Chief said, "I don't see why we need to go to such trouble to interrogate him. Why do we not just transfer him to Executioner's Row, and stop wasting Agent Korr's time?"

Jaden, still looking in on the Faithful, said, "sir, though this young man is not a Vampire, I still think he may have valuable information about the league he's affiliated with." She turned to face her superiors, saying, "If I could have some time with him, I could perhaps figure out why Agent Dawson was attacked."

"Well," the Chief said, wearily, "we've already got you down here, and you are the best interrogator in the building at the moment," he glanced at his watch, "you have twenty minutes."

"Thank you sir," Jaden with a bow of her head. She walked over to the guard stationed by the door and handed the sleepy looking woman her gun, knives, and baton. The woman laid them on the ground and patted Jaden down, searching for more weapons. (Not that Jaden would be hiding them, it was just standard procedure.)

The woman nodded gruffly and punched the security clearance code into the door. She reached for her com-link, and said into it, "Agent Jaden Korr request entering Cell F137…repeat Agent Jaden Korr request entering Cell F137"

There was a pause, and then, over the com-link, a voice said, "Entering Agent Korr, go ahead."

"Copy," the guard said. She punched in another code, and the door slid open. Jaden hurried in, so that there was no chance for the Faithful to decide to attack her. The door slid shut as soon as she passed over the threshold. The young man, tied to a chair, glared up at her; Jaden simply raised an eyebrow.

Though she couldn't admit it, she was really nervous. Not about the interrogation, but about why a Faithful was out to get caught; most stayed behind in the Vampires' safe houses to work as servants. She also was nervous about whether she was doing the right thing or not, and if that could have fatal consequences...


	9. A Meeting with Tsar

James stood before his Master, a humble servant, the only being in the entire League of Nichelle to whom he had to bow. Everyone else had to bow down to him. He was the strongest and longest living Turn of Alexander Tsar, leader of the Continent's Nichelle compounds, and one of the most powerful vampires still alive. Being the Turn of Alexander Tsar also made it so that he was related to Louis Nichelle, though distantly; Tsar was the Turn of Nichelle. The woman who was meant to ascend to the leadership of the League, if Nichelle should die, trained Tsar, but he killed the woman and took her place as Nichelle's heir. That had been six hundred years before.

Now James was one of the greatest, most feared and admired beings in the world. The Agents wanted to kill him, Vampires from other Leagues wanted to kill him, and the Vampires he ruled over, wanted to be him, or eliminate him. It had been long since he had taken on a student. Almost a hundred and sixty years, in fact. And now Tsar was ordering him who his next Turn would be, and James wasn't happy.

"I don't see why I have to do it," he said softly to Tsar, "why is it that Ashmore can't?" he nodded his head in the direction of the Vampire standing beside him, the only other man for miles around who was actually his equal.

Tsar sighed and watched his fingertips as he tapped them together, "you know James, I could have you killed for such insubordination. I know of many who would wish to take your place. I have selected you because you are the only one I trust to do it, and I know that you won't take any bull shit for training her. My mind is made up."

James was really getting pissed off, "but Sir," he began to protest, but Tsar cut him off as he rose to his feet.

"But nothing," he said in a soft voice full of venom, "I grow tired of this back talk James. I charge you with the task of training the Agent once she has undergone her transformation, and I have assigned Benjamin to look after the city's affairs whilst you attend to your student. I will hear no more debate on the matter." The man paused, and stared both the younger Vampires down, a look that would have caused any other person to faint, or at least recoil, but neither even blinked, let alone flinch. "You are both dismissed." The two men turned to leave, and as James was about to walk through the door, a voice in his ear said, "James, if you _ever _talk to me in such a way again, I swear, I will rip out your throat. I've done it once; I'll do it again. Understood?"

James turned slightly, the older Vampire was at his shoulder, and he grinned showing off his fangs, saying, "of course, _Master_," with as much contempt and loathing as he could. He shrugged off Tsar and walked through the door, and swept down the corridor and out of sight.

He went back to his chambers, but paused before he opened the door. James decided that he needed to go out and headed off to Vanessa's chambers. She was always interesting to bring along if he wanted to have some fun.

She was in her chambers with Andrew; they were both wanted to go out. Andrew had not gone out for about a month, so the real world would do him some good. James desired nothing more than to rip open some poor soul's throat, and suck away their life as the blood flowed thought him.

He hoped that his suspicions were proved correct before he was forced to turn the twit. James did not look forward to teaching the way of life for Vampires to an Agent…

* * *

_**you know...i would like to get a review or two...just to know that people are actually reading this...i don't care if it is something mean or anything, i just wanna know people are reading this...**_

_**peace...Julianne**_


	10. The Faithful

Jaden tried for a half an hour to get any relevant information from the Faithful, when suddenly, he sprang out of his chair and stabbed something into Jaden's arm. With a yell, she kicked him in the stomach, and by the time he had fallen to the ground, the wall had burst open and soldiers poured in, all with their weapons trained on the man. But it was no use; he was, inexplicably, dead.

Jaden staggered back until her back connected with the wall. She cradled her arm as it felt as if a thousand needles were stabbing it over and over, but there wasn't even the slightest mark. She slid down to the floor, and felt like fainting. But she did what any Agent should do, and she fought to remain conscious, as she dragged herself to her feet and went over to inspect the Faithful's chair. It was fine. Puzzled, Jaden hurried over to the body, and checked the wrists for the rope that should have bound them, but the knots on the rope were cut. How could someone be so foolish as to allow a Faithful a _knife_, and then tie them with _rope_? Either the security was so lax that this was allowed or…

Jaden shook her head, the only conclusion she could reach in which the guards were not incompetent imbeciles, was simply impossible. Why would anyone want it to be? But it was the only notion that didn't portray the guards as bumbling idiots.

Someone wanted him to escape…someone wanted him to stab the Agent who interviewed him.

Jaden's heart began to race. She backed away from the guards and the corpse, and leaned heavily against the wall. _Could it have been for me?_ She thought, hoping it wasn't the truth. She inspected her arm more closely. There was nothing physically different about it, and there was no reason to believe that there was something wrong, based on appearances; but the limb had feelings of sharp, jabbing pain running up and down it, not unlike the feeling of needles pricking one's skin over and over again.

By then, Jaden's superiors, who'd been standing out in the hall for the whole affair, had come bustling in. "Agent Korr, are you alright?" Mackie asked, a little pale.

Jaden glanced up, she had been staring absently at her arm as she massaged it, which seemed to help with the pain, and nodded. "I'm fine, my arm just hurts, that's all." She replied, trying to make it so that her heavy breathing wasn't noticeable in her speech, though the comment about the arm was sort of an understatement. It really hurt.

"Let me see it," Mackie said, holding out his hand. Jaden placed the limb in this hand and Mackie scrutinized it for a moment or so. He looked up at her, frowning, "I see nothing wrong with it. But it hurts, you say?"

Jaden nodded again, "sirs, may I please go to Medical? To get it checked out by one of the doctors?" she must have looked pathetic or something, because Mackie nodded his head and released her arm.

Jaden bowed, and as she was walking past the Chief Commander, he caught her arm, stopping her and said, "I've found a replacement teacher for you, so you may take the night off. I'll see you tomorrow night. You're back on shift, as tomorrow is the last hours of Halloween. Good day." And he released his hold.

Jaden bowed again, murmured "thank you sirs," and swept from the room, cradling her injured arm.

By the time Jaden had reached the Medical Compound, it was just 8:30 in the morning. All was quiet in the Command Center, as the Night Agents would have gone home hours ago, and the Day Agents would have left for duty hours before. There was a lone doctor in the Examination Room, who glanced up and smiled kindly when Jaden approached.

"What can I do for you, Agent?" he asked, identifying her rank by the symbol on her shirt, putting aside the paperwork he was doing.

Jaden held out her arm and explained, "I was in an interrogation, and the one in question got free and stabbed my arm with something." The doctor raised an eyebrow, "I know it sounds crazy," Jaden hurriedly continued, "especially since it left no mark or anything, but I was hoping that I could get it scanned. Just in case."

The doctor looked thoughtful, "very well then Agent," he said, "come with me." He got to his feet and walked to a door at the end of the room. Through the door, there was a corridor, which had many other doors branching off it. The doctor went through a door a little farther down the hall, and Jaden followed him in, unconsciously wary. It was basic instincts now that made her distrusting and suspicious.

But it was simply a scanning room; the doctor took a seat at the computer that took up most of the back wall and motioned for Jaden to take a seat in the chair beside the scanner. "so, Agent Korr," he said, wheeling his chair over to her, "please place your hand on the scanner," indicating the scanning bed, "and sit still for the duration of three minutes."

Jaden frowned, "scans usually don't take longer than sixty seconds, why so long?"

The doctor smiled slightly, "those scans are for broken bones and the like, we are looking for something that may be microscopic, so the scan will take longer." He pressed a button, and the scanning bed glowed green, and the surface turned to gel, into which Jaden's arm sank. "Now Agent, please describe the what happened to you." Jaden nodded and obliged, though she omitted saying that it was a Faithful who hurt her. "Hmm," he said, a frown wrinkling his forehead, "this is most unusual. I have never heard of such a thing. Excuse me a moment." He got to his feet and said, as he was leaving, "the gel your arm is submersed in will turn a colour of pink when the scan is complete, only then can you remove your arm. Understood?" she nodded, "Good. Back in a few moments." And he hurried out of the room.

As she watched him go, Jaden wondered what could have been so important that he would have left so quickly for.


	11. Seeing the Doctor

Out of the darkness, the phone rang. James answered it on the second ring. "What?" he asked, irritable to be woken so early in the day.

"Sir," a nervous voice said at the end of the line, "there is a woman here with the symptoms that you described."

James sat up a little farther in bed and said, "tell me more. What does she look like?"

The voice replied, "she is young sir, no older than twenty, she has long black hair, brown eyes, and light skin. She is an Agent of medium rank."

"You will be rewarded for your services," James assured the man, and he heard him breath a slight sigh of relief. "is she still with you?"

"Yes sir."

"Then go back to her and tell her that nothing in wrong. Nothing at all," James commanded, a slight smile on his face.

"Yes sir, of course sir." The line went dead. The man on the other end had hung up. Smiling, James hung up as well.

_Things are falling perfectly into place_, he thought, _this is going to be easier than I thought_! James rolled off the bed and began to dress. "Maddox," he yelled.

The door opened and a large man entered, "yes?"

"Maddox, our plan is in motion, assemble our men. We move this night." He said this as he pulled on his shirt. "We are finally going to reap the profit of all our hard work. Now go!"

Maddox bowed and exited. James smiled demonically, and checked his appearance in the mirror, to be sure that he looked suitable to disturb his master's slumber, so that he may tell him that the campaign was coming to an end. It would soon be over and the real work would begin.

The doctor hastily reentered the room just as the scanning gel turned a pretty shade of fuchsia. "Hmm," he said, as he slid into his seat at the computer, and waited for the results of the scan to print. "Ah, here we go!" he exclaimed, as a sheet of paper slid into the print slot and was ejected with writing all over it. He scrutinized it for a moment or two and turned to Jaden, cleared his throat and said, "there is nothing the matter here Agent. I'm guessing that the pain you feel is an aftereffect of what that Faithful did, which I presume is merely punching your arm." He shrugged and got to his feet, handing Jaden a towel to wipe off the sticky scanning gel.

"Well thank you sir," Jaden said, accepting the towel, "I guess it's better to know its nothing than to go on and believe that it is something. Thank you for your time, doctor." She shook his hand, and exited from the examination room, but not too quickly to hear a sigh, possibly of relief, come from the doctor. She wondered what could have made the doctor act so. But then again, it was Jaden's nature to be paranoid, so she put the notion that she ever heard the doctor from her mind.

Jaden made it back to her apartment at about 10:00 in the morning. She decided that she would sleep a bit, and then ask Kay, the Day Agent who lived next door, if she would like to go eat some dinner. Jaden and Kay had been friends in the Academy together, and had remained so, even if they hardly saw each other. They did kind things for each other, such as laundry, and buying the other breakfast on occasion. But Kay wouldn't be off for hours, and Jaden hadn't slept for nearly 18 hours, so she decided that nothing needed her attention more than her pillow.

She stripped off her uniform and pulled on blue sweatpants and an Academy T-shirt, climbed under the covers, and tried to ignore the pain lacing her arm so that she might fall asleep. Sleep came, slowly, and lightly. She awoke many times during the day, as her arm jabbed with pain.


	12. Betrayal: edited and fixed

Jaden awoke fully at about 6:00 in the evening, just a little before the sun dipped under the horizon. As she lay in the warmth of her bed, she began to wonder why the Chief Commander gave her the night off in the first place; it at midnight that Halloween began, which the Vampires deemed as sacred. It was on Hollow's Eve that they unveiled themselves to the world, centuries before, and began the power struggle with the humans.

Jaden had heard that before the Vampires revealed themselves, Halloween was a night upon which children would dress up in costumes and go about to the houses in their neighborhoods to receive candy. The idea sounded preposterous; so ridiculous, that it was probably true. The people of history weren't the smartest, and they would most likely participate in such foolish acts. But that was in a time in which you probably didn't have to worry if your neighbor was going to turn into a Vampire and drink your blood while you were sleeping. Times were simpler. The people were too.

But Jaden wondered why the Chief Commander took her off duty on one of the busiest nights of the year; a time in which the most people would be attacked and turned. Especially when Jaden was the best Agent for tracking and destroying Vampires. But maybe the Chief hadn't learned that yet, he had, after all, only filled her father's shoes for less than a year, so it was understandable for him to be so ignorant.

Jaden when to sit up in bed, and nearly screamed as she tried to do so. The pain in her arm was so excruciating, and worse, it had spread up her arm to her shoulder and part of her neck. She lay on the bed, gasping in pain, as tears rolled down her cheeks. She thought back to the last words the doctor had said, _I'm guessing that the pain you feel is an aftereffect of what the Faithful did, which I presume…_he mentioned the Faithful, but she was certain that she never had.

"Shit!" Jaden yelled, "that Bastard!!!!" he had betrayed and lied to her, there was something wrong, and he'd probably spoken with the Vampires when he left the room. They probably told him not to tell her there was anything wrong. Could the Chief be behind this as well, putting her off duty? _No, impossible_, she thought, _that's just a coincidence,_ _The Chief Commander would never involve himself with such acts; he was just being kind_.

She somehow managed to lever herself out of bed, thought there was an abundance of swearing. She dragged herself into the kitchen and rummaged around until she found the bottle of Scotch that a former boyfriend had left behind, and took a swig of it. It numbed pain slightly, but it also made her head spin. She needed to get to a doctor, but not the same one she'd seen before, as he was obviously corrupted. She glanced up at her clock, it was about 7:00, Kay would be off her shift any minute, as the sun had set; perhaps she could drive Jaden to a Medical Center, for it was obvious that she wouldn't be able to it under her own power.

Jaden stumbled into her bathroom, and she caught her reflection in the mirror. She looked normal, except that she was a little pale. Jaden half expected to see something gruesome, but she suspected that it was some sort of Vampire poison that she'd been injected with when the Faithful stabbed her. She leaned against the sink and stared into the sink. She felt sick, and just as this feeling was processed, she vomited blood into the sink. She rinsed her mouth out. She decided that she would personally kill that doctor and that if this were some sort of Vampire plan, she'd make them wish they hadn't picked her!

On the other side of the wall, she heard someone quietly walking around in Kay's apartment. Just like Kay to walk softly, so the other Agents in the building could sleep. She smiled; then she heard footsteps in the hallway, and heard a key in the door of Kay's apartment. The smile disappeared. She heard the door open, the unmistakable sound of a struggle, a well muffled scream, a sort of hissing sound, and then silence.

Jaden was gripping the edges of the sink so hard that her knuckles were white. She crept out of the bathroom, being sure to be noiseless, which was quite a feat, as her whole left side was now affected by whatever the Faithful had injected her with, and was quite agonizing. She slid back into her bedroom, and pulled a metal bat out from under the bed, cursing herself for not keeping a gun in the house. She pulled on a pair of running shoes, and crept to the fire escape, outside her bedroom window, attached to Kay's bedroom window as well. She slid out onto the metal structure, and peeked in over the sill of the window in the other apartment. There was no one in this room, but the door to the room was open, and the light from the room without was pouring in. Jaden slid the window open, which was unlocked, as neither kept them locked, in case of emergency and the fact that one of them was always there, and slipped silently into the room, holding her bat in a death grip. She crept to the door and peeked through the crack.

Kay was being held up against a wall, as a very large Vampire sucked at her neck, one hand braced against her neck, the other between her breasts. Jaden felt herself go hot with rage and cold with fear; this man, was killing friend. The bastard!

Just as Jaden was about to burst into the room, she realized that there were other Vampires present, shifting from foot to foot off to the side, watching hungrily as Kay was being killed. The huge man withdrew from Kay's neck and murmured something in her ear. Kay shook her head and Jaden could see the word "never" upon her lips. He whispered in Kay's ear once more; Jaden lowered her head, and a single tear rolled down her cheek, as the Vampire bit into Kay's neck a second time. Kay stiffened for an instant, drawing a gasping breath as the man sunk his teeth in, but soon she grew limp. Jaden was almost sure that Kay looked straight at Jaden, a pleading, pathetic look in her dying eyes.

The huge man dropped Kay, who slumped, bleeding sluggishly, against the wall. He turned and motioned for the Vampires to follow, and they left the apartment. Seeing this as her only chance to save Kay, Jaden, triple checking that they were gone, skulked into the room. She hurried silently over to Kay, and gripped her hand hard. Kay opened her eyes, and started as she saw Jaden, she lifted a hand, laid it on Jaden's shoulder, and pulled her close. "You have to leave! Now!" she whispered.

Jaden shook her head adamantly, "I'm not going to leave you! I'm going to get you out of here!"

A tear slithered down Kay's face as she shook her head more insistently, gripping Jaden's shoulder with a greater strength, "no!" she whispered fiercely, "it's a trap! Go now, before they get you too!" She gave Jaden's shoulder a shove, and whispered forcefully, "GO!"

Jaden, tears streaming down her face, hugged Kay one handedly and rose up, turning to leave the way she came. Just as she entered the dark bedroom, all the lights in the apartment went out. She froze. There was a shape that loomed up out of the darkness, blocking the window, blocking her only exit. Suddenly, she was seized from behind and dragged out into the main room of the apartment. The lights sprang back to life, and Jaden found herself wrestling to get free from the grip of a red-haired, female Vampire, and surrounded on every side by other Vampires.

She lashed out with her feet and managed to free a hand, with which she managed to seize a lamp that she used to beat back the Vampires' approach. The agony of her left side threatened to make her pass out, but she knew that even blinking could get her killed. Finally, she was able to break through the wall of Vampires and raced to the door, and sprinted down the hall. She could hear yelling behind her, but all she paid attention to was the ground in front of her, and the doors on either side, to be ready for the next assault. She kicked open the door of the stairwell, there was no one there. She slid down the railing at breakneck speed. She got down six floors in less than a minute. She burst out into the lobby, still hearing the Vampires in pursuit.

She ran out of the apartment building, and into the street. There was almost no traffic, for no one was foolish enough to be out, after dark, on the Eve of Halloween; well, no one except her.

Jaden could hear the Vampires close behind, and as she ran around a corner, she glance back, and was able to make their silhouettes out in the darkness. She ran harder, ignoring the screaming agony that had enveloped her left side. Jaden knew that if she stopped, she'd die the same death as Kay! She ducked into an alley, and seized a piece of lead piping that lay on the ground; the problem with the choice of weapon, someone else thought it was a good idea too.

The man holding the other end of the pipe grinned; he was one of the men from Kay's apartment. Jaden stared for a moment and released the pipe when he tugged on it. She clumsily ducked under it as he swung at her head, and seized it, jerking it so that he fell over. As he rose up to his feet, Jaden smashed the pipe into his stomach, and then jabbed the end of it at his throat, nearly crushing his windpipe. Gasping for air, he keeled over, and lay still. Jaden dropped it and ran.

She rounded the corner, running right into a group of them that had separated from the others to cut her off. She skidded to a halt, and stared from one to the next. There were four of them, and they all looked like experienced fighters, judging by the way one of them held a staff with blades on the ends.

Her eyes shifted around, searching for a way out, searching for weak-spots in the Vampires' stance and positions. There were none, as usual. There was an instant of stillness, no one uttered a sound, or made a move. Then, as a wave breaks upon the rocks, chaos erupted. The one with the staff took a swing for Jaden's head, as another took a kick a Jaden's knees, a third tried to punch her in the stomach, while the fourth lashed out with his fists at her head.

At that moment, she blessed every combat instructor she had, thanking them for beating her into watching and being able to fight on multiple levels, as she was able to duck under the punch and the blades, back away from the blow to her stomach, and jump over the strike to her knees. She staggered back, putting a wall behind her, so that none could sneak around her and gut her from behind. The blond man who went for her stomach first, was the first to recover from the moment of confusion that Jaden had caused with her avoidances. He ran at her, and attempted to kick her, but Jaden bashed the leg out of the way. A brunette woman charged at her, pulling daggers from her sleeves, and whipped one at Jaden. The Agent ducked and the dagger stuck in the wall, exactly behind where her head had been. She ducked under another punch, swatted away the staff, and dove through an opening in the wall that the four Vampires had created.

In her desperate moment of freedom, she ran as fast as she could, the pain she had been feeling back in her apartment a mere memory. Her entire body was numb, and she knew that the moment she stopped running, that she wanted to go into a coma.

She dashed around another building, when she heard a gun firing, and an explosion of agony coursed through her neck. Her fingers scrambled over her neck, trying to find what cause the pain. She found it.

_It_ was a huge dart, which had been shot into her jugular, and whatever was in the dart, was now in her bloodstream. But even as this thought was processed and she pulled out the dart, when suddenly, it felt as if her blood was afire, burning, incinerating her veins. She screamed at the torture, and writhed upon the ground. As blackness closed over her eyes, she saw the faces of the four Vampires loom over her, and they all looked fairly happy.

* * *

**_ya...i fixed a spelling mistake...now Kay comes off her shift...not her shirt...oops...just realized that i made that mistake_**


	13. A Terrible Truth

_She looks so pitiful_, James thought, as he stared into the Agent's holding cell. She was fixed to the wall, her feet not even touching the ground, with metal straps holding her ankles, wrists, and chest to it. The girl had not awoken yet, and she would wish she hadn't when she finally did. James watched as her chest rose and fell, and searched for signs of returning consciousness under the chocolate brown tresses that hid her face. _She looks like Ashmore_, he mused, as he entered the cell. If he were still mortal, he was almost certain he would consider her a most beautiful woman, but alas, he no longer put humans in the same category as beauty. He only found attractiveness in fellow Vampires, for the Turn accented all of one's better features, and improved on the lacking ones.

He watched her sleep, never making a move towards her, simply content to sit in a chair and wait for her awakening. James felt slightly remorseful for what had been done to her. But Jake injecting her with the serum was the only way. The poison was a design to reveal half-bloods. Causing the human blood to become conflicted with the Vampiric. It was a painful way to have one's heritage revealed, but it was the only way to do it without actually drinking the person's blood. It was a little thing he'd thought up of one day, after he was so angry he didn't really know what he was as a human, and that the Vampires didn't know either. The only way he figured it out was when another half-blood he met described the dreams; the dreams that convinced James that he was something evil, something to be damned. And now Jaden would hear the truth, for the serum only effected half-bloods, and just seeing her, James could see how much she resembled her _true_ father.

There was a groan from the unconscious Agent. Her hands twitched and clenched into fists, and her breathing grew faster. The girl's eyes shuddered behind closed lids, and blinked open slowly. There was an undisguised look of pain on her face. James could only imagine what torture she was going through. He still couldn't comprehend why Maddox had her shot, when she had already been identified. But James cared very little; she was, after all, an Agent, and she would have killed his men if she had the chance.

James snapped his fingers, and a Faithful scurried forward with a syringe; he took it from the lady with only a slight glance in her direction. The Agent's eyes were now open, and they stared suspiciously and fearfully (blearily too) at James, approaching her with a very impressive sized needle.

"What is that?" she asked coldly.

James smiled, just as frostily, and replied, "Antidote. For the poison in your blood stream."

She glared, "why do you want to give _me_ antidote? Why do you want to help _me_?"

James grinned wolfishly, answering, "who's to say I'm doing this for _your_ gain?" With saying that, he thrust the needle into her thigh. She bared her teeth and whimpered slightly with pain, but she made no move to struggle. James pushed in the plunger, a little slower than necessary, and he was sure to wiggle the tip around as he extracted it, causing more pain than there could have been. He turned away, smelling the tang of blood, sensing it dripping from her sliced palms; wounds inflicted as she clenched her hands to keep from screaming, the nails biting deep into the flesh. He settled back down into the chair, crossed his arms and sat staring at the Agent (simply for the effect of unnerving her, as Vampires could go for a week without blinking, if they really worked at it).

"What do you want of me?" she asked in a low voice.

James shrugged, "nothing at the moment. We're waiting for some others to join us before we discuss anything; so just sit tight for now. I'd offer you something to eat or drink, but what's the point? I wouldn't get it for you anyways." He sneered at her, got to his feet and left the cell. He sat in a chair just outside the door, and watched her with a viewing monitor, for there was a camera in the room, completely invisible to a human's eyes. James watched her struggle to free herself, and smiled; he could almost taste her fear!

For an hour, James sat and watched the anxious Agent, waiting for Tsar and Ashmore to arrive. Finally, a little after midnight, they strutted down the hallway. James wearily got to his feet, and bowed to his superior, and nodded politely in the direction of his equal. Ashmore entered the cell first, with James following, as was standard procedure while dealing with an Agent, to have the weak proceed the powerful, in case of an assassination attempt.

James saw the girl draw a breath, and could feel the tension in the room shoot up a few more notches. _She hadn't predicted seeing the three of us_ James mused. He watched her dark eyes flick from Vampire to Vampire, and he saw her swallow; _good, she knows with whom she is dealing_ he thought, _perhaps she shows some promise after all_! James smiled inwardly, keeping a cool, calm demeanor about him. He had to be the one of the three that showed no pleasure in the situation that they had placed her in; let her think that the other two were monsters, while he was still humane.

James watched openly disinterested as Tsar ordered for the Agent's bonds to be released, and she fell to the ground in a heap when they withdrew into the wall. Hastily she got to her feet, body tense, ready for some sort of action. But no movement was made. Ashmore took a seat in a chair in a corner of the small room, Tsar sat on the table that sat centered in the cell, and James leaned up against a wall. None of them made a hostile move.

Tsar glanced at Ashmore, then nodded, and Ashmore got to his feet, picked up the chair he had been sitting upon, and placing it firmly in front of the Agent as he said gruffly, "have a seat, Agent." He said the phrase with open distain, and then he lounged against the wall opposite James.

The Agent, eyes still shifting, eased suspiciously into the chair. James observed how her gaze darted from one man to another, and inwardly approved of her hostility towards her companions. He, in a similar situation would act the same, showing open hostility and burying all other emotions that somewhat resembled fear. He approved of her, and silently admired her courage, for he had not shown much when he faced a situation very much like this. James could see much of himself in the girl, though she was the child of a completely different person.

"What do you want?" the Agent asked, looking from one face to another. When she got no answer, she went on saying, "I know no classified information! I do not know where prisoners are kept! I do not know when the watches change, and who they are! I see no reason for you people to have me here, and yet here I am!" As she said each sentence she looked at a different Vampire, as if addressing the statement to him. "So what do you want?" she folded her arms defiantly over her chest and scowled at the Vampires.

Tsar gave her a small sinister smile, "my dear girl," he said patronizingly, "there is no information we could get from you that we couldn't already get. What we are interested in is _you_; but nothing to do with the Organization."

She looked suspicious and wary, "what about me?" she asked.

Tsar grinned wolfishly, "We believe we know something about you, and the events of this evening have truly proved our suspicions, and we would like to share this information about you. Would you like us to tell you what it is?" he said in an arrogant manner, speaking to her as if she were a six year old.

The Agent raised an eyebrow, "you kidnapped me so _you_ could talk to me?" she asked, skeptically; she snorted, "Yeah, right! No one is stupid enough to believe that! Why am I here?"

Tsar looked at her thoughtfully, "you really don't know who you are, and where you come from," he observed. "You don't realize how lucky you are!"

The Agent frowned, "what do you mean?" she asked, cautiously.

Tsar smiled and said, "Well, my dear girl, I'll be frank with you." He took a deep breath pausing to be dramatic, and he continued, obviously enjoying every moment of it, "you are a Half-Blood. Born a Human and a Vampire. Half way to being one of us."


	14. A Lesson in Personal History

Jaden's face went blank; she stared at Tsar and blinked a few times. "That's not true," she breathed, "that's not true," her voice was steadily rising, "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" she screamed.

Tsar chuckled, and said patiently, "Fortunately for you, it is indeed possible. Like it or not child, you are the half daughter of a Vampire, one who is in this very room, in fact."

The girl whipped her head from one Vampire to the next, as if searching for the lie on their faces. "No," she whispered, sagging in her chair, staring at the floor. "No," she murmured again, "it can't be!"

"It can and it is, girl. You are a Vampire's half-child. You are the daughter of both the Chief Commander Korr…and Benjamin Ashmore."

Her head jerked up, and she looked Ashmore straight in the face. "Did you rape her, you bastard?" she asked, her voice cold with hatred.

Ashmore sneered, and said, "That whore? No, I didn't have to persuade her much. You could say that she was completely willing and all for it." he paused and inspected his nails and continued, "Though, I have been fucked better, I believe. I'm not quite sure though; I don't really remember her."

The girl lunged out of her seat near as fast as any Newborn, and launched herself at Ashmore; that was, before James seized her by the throat and slammed her onto the table. For an instant she lay dazed, but then she was clawing at his hand and trying to kick at his legs, but James held her neck in a death grip.

Their struggle went on as such until Tsar said, "Enough, James. There will be time for this later."

James, still holding her by the throat, lifted her and slammed her against the wall, winding her, as steel bars, which would secure her, snapped into place. When he loosened his grasp on her airways, she gasped and wheezed as she tried to take in air. He backed away and leaned once more against the wall, as if nothing had occurred.

Even as she was bright red in the face, and panting as if she'd run a great distance, she still glared murderously at Ashmore. "How? When?" she gasped, "Why didn't I know? _How_ didn't I know?"

James raised an eyebrow and inspected his nails. "But you _did_ know," he said firmly. Jaden's head jerked in his direction, and he cut off her sharp retort by saying, "Thought exactly what it was, you didn't know, but you were aware that you were different from all others." The girl shook her head adamantly, and when she took a breath to begin speaking, James overrode her again, stating, "You simply though there was something terrible about you. Something inside you that was damned." Her breath, which she had gotten under control by now, suddenly quickened. James noticing this, and feeling her fear and dread quiver through the air continued. "Did you never think that it was all you that made you such a good fighter? Didn't you ever wonder what made you enjoy the killing that comes with being an Agent?" James watched the girl pale, and her shock radiated from her.

He smiled, and walked right up to her and whispered in her ear, "I had the dreams too." He moved back a little, and looked her dead in the face. Her eyes were wide, her chest heaved as she panted, and she trembled in fearful realization.

Her mouth formed the words _no_ over and over again, as she shook her head adamantly. She soon began to say it in the tiniest of voice, as she bowed her head, and a tear fell from her cheek.

Savoring her grief, James looked over to Tsar and made a gesture. Tsar shook his head and smiled slightly.

"Why did you tell me this?" the girl asked, looking up.

James turned to face her and asked, "Why not tell you? A child should not have its heritage hidden from them their whole life. A child should know who its parents are!"

Her face distorted with grief, "well, why didn't you choose to humiliate me?" she asked in an almost desperate voice. "Why didn't you simply declare that _Jaden Korr is the world's greatest hypocrite! She destroys vampires; her own kind! _Why didn't you just do that?"

James smiled, kindly this time and said softly, "Yes, we could have done that, if we wanted you killed. The Organization would surely think that you were a spy, and eliminate you immediately, to save themselves some embarrassment." The girl winced and looked away. James, placing a hand under her chin, lifted her face to look into his own, and said, "but you, child: we want you to join us." He looked deep into her coffee brown eyes, and told her, "the Half-Bloods are the most powerful of our kind, and you will find a true home here, better than the one you thought you had. You will have greater powers than you could ever imagine, and you not have to live with the pains you always have."

As she stared up into his eyes, James wondered what she saw. Did she see a kindred spirit; did she see a murderer; or did she see something else, neither friend nor enemy? When he looked down into her eyes, he saw fear, determination and courage, mingling with the tears. She blinked, breaking the spell he had woven upon her, and she said, glaring hatefully, "I will _never_ join you!"

Behind him, Tsar cleared his throat. James looked one more time into the Agent's eyes, before he released his hold on her jaw, and turned away. He walked over to his master.

Reaching into his pocket, Tsar removed a small vial of blood, and handed it to James. James took the vial and stepped aside.


	15. The Turn

_**you know, it would be nice to get a review...i wanna know if people are actually reading this!**_

Alexander Tsar, ruler of all the Nichelle in the city, brushed past James and graced his way over to Jaden. She gulped and tried to hide her fear as he came closer and closer. He cupped her face in one of his hands, and gazed into her eyes. She glared back coldly, willing herself to face this man with courage and no hint of fear, though her heart screamed in protest.

Tsar grinned, showing her his razor sharp incisors. Then his eyes widened and he pushed her head to the side as he sought out the soft, delicate flesh of her neck.

Jaden gasped as the fangs sunk deep into her neck, stiffening as she felt the agony that she knew signaled her death. As she opened her mouth in a silent scream, she prayed she would die soon.

Tsar had drunk from the Agent's neck for only a moment or so, when he stepped aside for James to finish. James surged forward, sinking his teeth into the other side of the dying Agent's neck, greedily drinking away the life of one who had stolen so many. He could feel her life flow through his veins, the feeling supremely erotic. He heard Tsar and Ashmore shift behind him, and James knew that he must soon stop, for risk of her going too far into Death for her to be Reborn strong.

The bonds holding her released and he lay her gently on the ground. He took the vial of blood he had clutched in his hand, and he pulled out the cork. Next, he sunk his fangs into his own arm and let the blood flowing down his arm fall into the bleeding Agent's open mouth. Had she been closer to life, she would have struggled, but she was long past consciousness, and simply lay there. As enough blood filled her mouth, she began to stir, and James lowered his arm to her mouth.

Like a baby suckling from its mother, the young Agent drank from his arm. James grimaced, and poured the vial of blood onto the puncture wounds Tsar had inflicted. The gashes sizzled and scabbed over. Her breathing became more noticeable, and her drinking of James' blood more evident. It was hurting him now, and he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

Opening his eyes again, he pulled his bleeding arm away from the Agent, whose hands blindly sought after it. James glanced up at Tsar, who nodded, and James stepped away from the Agent. Suddenly, she gasped, eyes flying wide open, staring sightlessly at the ceiling. She began to scream as her innards felt as if they were being ripped apart. James winced as he watched her claw at her stomach, as she wailed in wordless agony.

And then, she was still; quiet; but alive, nonetheless. Tsar, James and Ashmore traded looks. There, lying unconscious on the floor, was the Vampire with the blood of the three of them, and their former greatest enemy, flowing through her veins. The only thing now to do, was to await her Awakening, and teach her all they knew.


	16. A Vampire: edited and fixed

_**sorry the update took so long...no one reviewed the story so i didnt know if anyone was reading it...i fixed some stuff later in the story, so if it seems like i messed up, tell me please...sorry the story is so long until Jaden becomes a Vampire...here it is...JG**_

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Her eyes snapped towards the sound of the door opening. She was on her feet in a heartbeat as a man arrogantly swaggered into the room. He was handsome, in a sinister, menacing sort of way. The man appeared to be in his late-twenties, possibly early-thirties; his hair was chestnut brown, his eyes an icy blue; she thought she recognized him from somewhere, but from where she didn't know. The woman watched him suspiciously as his attractive face was enhanced by the grin that spread across it.

"You are the most amazing person I've ever met," he said to her, crossing his arms over his chest.

The woman frowned and, her face screwed up in confusion, said, "huh?"

The man sighed, and shook his head, "never mind," he said, much like a learned person brushed aside the confused look of child, when the learned person said something of intelligence. "How are you feeling?" he asked, concern in his voice.

The woman, suspicious still, replied, "fine." There was a slight pause, after which she asked, "Where am I?"

"You are home," he replied (not a very helpful answer).

"Who are you?" she asked. She knew she'd seen him before, but wasn't sure.

He smirked slightly, saying, "I am James. And in case you don't remember, which, don't feel embarrassed, isn't all that un-common a thing, you are Jaden Korr, former Agent of the Organization."

That one sentence brought everything back to her; like water pouring from a broken dam, her memories flooded her mind. Jaden Korr backed away from the man who killed her, asking softly, "What did you do to me?" She studied her hands; they were smoothed of all the calluses and scars she had ever acquired, and her bitten nails had lengthened into sharp, strong claw-like ones.

She looked up at James. He was grinning at her, "Nothing reversible," he told her smugly. "You have been, whether you like it or not, Turned."

Jaden shook her head, rage, desperation and fear washing over her, as she adamantly said, "No." she shook her head again "No; you're lying. You did nothing to me. You just knocked me out! I'm no vampire!"

James rolled his eyes, "do you remember nothing of our last conversation?" Jaden, fuming, looked away. He smirked at he, and stated, "don't worry, you'll soon come to love being one of us," there was a soft knock at the door, and he opened it, took a covered tray from a person unseen from where Jaden stood, and continued saying, "but, its not as if you'll remember being anything but one of us, after long enough." He set the tray down on the dresser by the door, and uncovered it.

Jaden's head suddenly gave a painful twinge. She winced, though she tried not to. James obviously noticed her stiffen, for his smirk widened. On the tray was a crystal glass, and in it was a dark red liquid. Jaden could feel a sort of pulling sensation, stronger than one she had ever felt before, drawing her towards it. She closed her eyes and tried to resist. But the struggle was useless; James brought the blood over to her.

The cruel man held the glass under her nose, as Jaden, eyes still squeezed shut, fought to hold onto the last shred of humanity in her; one that told her to not drink the blood, to back away, to not take it. Her head throbbed in agony as she retreated from the sweet calling of the blood. She backed up so far that she bumped into a wall. The jarring into it made Jaden open her eyes. There it was; dark; warm; life giving; and more seducing than anything – human blood before a vampire.

James, knowing of the conflict going on within her, and knowing of the pain she was going through, stroked her cheek, crooning, "Just drink it Jaden. The pain will leave once its over. You will think so much clearer." Jaden turned her head away. He smiled sadly saying, "There is no way to avoid it. It's drink now or later; you're choice. But the longer you wait, the more it hurts, and the harder the pain is to control. I know what I speak of Jaden."

He grasped one of her hands, and brought it up to the glass, and held it to it. He dipped his fingers into the blood and wiped them on her lips. Instinctively she licked them.

Her eyes snapped opened and, for an instant, she was fully alert, but the instance passed and she looked wearied beyond the point of exhaustion. It was not so fast that James did not see the Lust in her eyes. Her hands trembled as she grasped the glass with both hands, and brought it to her lips. Slowly she poured it into her mouth, but as soon as the blood touched her lips, she began to gulp it down, her mouth stained crimson.

Her chest heaved, her breath was ragged, her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she closed them and she trembled from head to toe. When the last drop of blood slid down her throat, her grasp on the glass slipped; James seized it before it had fallen more than a foot. She braced herself against the wall, eyes closed, panting in ecstasy and lust. She was unknowingly grinning, but James could see it and inside he whooped with joy. Everything was going far better than anticipated and hoped for.


	17. Feeding

**_thanks for the review TIM...much appreciated to know someone's reading...i'll continue for you...JG_**

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Jaden's eyes opened, and when she saw the glass in James' hand, she blinked away tears as she slid to the floor, murmuring, "what have I done?" under her breath.

James sat down beside her, and wrapped his arm around her, ignoring the way she cringed. In her ear he whispered, "You do know that, even if you weren't turned, that the Organization would have had you killed should they find out you were captured, or even worse, if they discovered you were a Half Blood? Surely you see that."

Jaden glared at him, "No matter what happened, I would have died. Whether by my will or not, I would not go on living as your prisoner, or the captive of my people." The look she gave him was murderous, pain-filled and pathetically desperate, all at the same time.

James could sense that she was uncertain of what to do; nothing in her life had ever prepared her for what was happening to her. She knew only how to kill a Vampire, but not how to deal in a civilized way with one; how to be one. James knew this state of vulnerability was delicate and would be brief; once she became surer of herself, she may begin to rebel against her captors. She could be so easily influenced by the wrong people, for she didn't even know what to think of herself, let alone even consider the decisions and manipulation of others. James knew that he'd have to trap her in their world; make her believe that if she left them, that death would be immediate. He hated having to trick one of his own, especially one so like himself, but it was a necessity, for if Jaden was influenced by anyone who wished to see him or the Nichelle fall, then they were in grave danger.

James smiled ruefully, squeezing her shoulder slightly. "Listen kid, whether you like it or not," he murmured, "we're stuck together. You need to be trained in taking care of yourself; and I need to teach you what it means to be one of us, and to be a Half-Blood Turned."

Frowning, Jaden looked at him, confused. "What is the difference between a Half-Blood Turned and a regular Turned?" she asked.

"Well," he said, sighing gustily, "regular Turned are usually considered scum, who will remain scum, and there isn't much they can do about it. Most of the common Newborns are of these lowly Vampires, which makes them weak. There are not many who are Turned by the powerful Vampires; who are people like me, or my Turned, Ashmore and his, and Tsar and his. We are the elites, sharing blood, through our masters, with the First People; or at least we are closer in blood to them, as every Vampire sprouts from them. And being so elite, we hardly Turn humans, as it requires a lot of work and sleepless days trying to get the Newborn to behave, cooperate, and so on. Common Newborns and Vampires see people like me as their ruler. To them, I am the one who rewards them for exceedingly good performance and loyalty, and the one who has them killed when they mess up. But I am pretty much out of their reach; untouchable; too good to associate myself with them, and if I do, it is a _very_ special privilege."

Jaden raised an eyebrow, "you still haven't answered my question. Why am _I_ so special?"

James gave her a look of mock exasperation, "I was going to tell you, before I was so _rudely_ interrupted!" he said, teasingly. "I have told you what a _regular_ is to expect; but you, my dear," he continued, lightly stroking her cheek, "are hardly mediocre! You are, to start, Alexander Tsar and my Turn. That alone puts you above the rest. Coursing through your veins is the blood of the most and the second most powerful beings of the Nichelle, for hundreds of miles in any direction; that makes you pretty important. You are also ranked high because you were already one of us. Being a Half-Blood makes it so that, deep down inside, you are a Vampire; which explains the dreams that Half-Bloods have, their tendency for violence and their efficiency at killing. And when your Second Father is the third most powerful Nichelle around, you are placed in a whole new category!"

James looked over at her, and said straight to her, "Jaden, you are the Turn and the child of some of the most powerful people on this section of the continent. You haven't even been one of us for a week, and yet you rank higher than most could ever dream of." He clasped both sides of her face and said firmly, "You are a one of a kind type of Vampire, and when you come into it, you will so formidable a foe; you will nearly be unstoppable."

James saw the light shift in her eyes; he saw the greed loom up inside them, and saw a power-hungry demon be given life. "Let me teach you," he whispered against her mouth, not unlike a lover would, "let me show you who you _truly_ are, and what you can easily become! I can help you become more powerful than you could possibly imagine, all you have to do is trust me!"

She pulled away, with hurt in her eyes, "why should I trust you? You were the one who killed me! You destroyed the life I had!" she accused, tearfully.

James smiled dolefully, "because I am the only one who can save you from the hurt of seeing your beloved friends try to exterminate you. I am the only one who can guide you through what will come and what has passed. Please Jaden, you must understand, you won't last a second in the real world, if you don't receive the proper training. It's not just the Agents I speak of! There are new sets of senses and hormones that come with the Turn. Being around a human will make you sick, or blood-crazy, if you don't receive the proper tutelage. You may think that you are a monster now, but a Vampire lost to the Blood Lust truly is one. If you don't allow me to train you, you will become a real monster, uncontrollable and evil."

There was fear in her eyes, along with anger, sadness and vulnerability. She looked away, closing her eyes, and when she looked back at him, her eyes were cold and hard, emotionless. Wordlessly she nodded. She would allow herself to be trained.

James gave her a crooked smile, and said, "come," as he rose to his feet, taking on the role of Master. He helped her up, and then continued saying, "you need to feed."

He steered her towards the door and opened it for her. The instant it opened Jaden felt as if she suddenly walked into a wall of icy water that turned to glass shards that mercilessly buried themselves into her flesh and mind. She gasped and silently screamed in her pain, her face contorting horribly, as she slumped against James. Her stomach twisted agonizingly and her head throbbed so painfully she saw spots.

James supported the girl and marveled. He could sense her suffering, and was impressed at how strong she was in coping with it. He glanced around and saw that there were a few Faithfuls nearby. "You there!" he called to them. They started and began to hurry towards him; the closer they got, the more distressed his student became, so he decided, to mitigate some of the hate that would be directed at him in the future, he raised his hand to stop the Faithfuls once they were close enough that he didn't need to shout. To them he commanded, "Go now, and remove any human between here and my chambers. You'd best hurry!" he pointed to one of them and said, "I want Maddox, Vanessa and her student, Andrew, all in my chambers, by the time we get there. Understood?"

The Faithfuls bowed and scurried away. The farther they got from her, the less pain Jaden was feeling; slowly it abated to a calmer, less intense ache, that still seemed to consume even her soul. With his arms still firmly supporting his student, James led her through the corridors to his rooms. There, as ordered to the Faithful, was the three Vampires he'd asked for, and on the way, there hadn't been a human in sight. He helped a trembling Jaden sit in a chair before his desk, then too his seat behind it.

Jaden looked around the room. She recognized two of the Vampires. The woman casually leaning against the wall behind James' desk, was Vanessa Cartier, the most influential woman of the Nichelle in the city. Vanessa was a tall thin woman, one of the most beautiful women Jaden'd ever seen. She had sea green eyes, and long platinum blond hair, and if she were not so pale, she could be considered a goddess. The other Jaden recognized from Kay's apartment; the huge Vampire who'd killed her friend leaned against the window-frame, staring out into the night. He was a large man, pure muscle, Jaden observed. He stood tallest in the room and was menacing even when his back was turned.

The third Vampire in the room was unknown to Jaden. She studied him as he lounged against a wall, gazing unseeingly at the floor before his feet. With a mop of dirty blond hair, he practically radiated sexuality and power, and as Jaden watched him, he raised his eyes to look at her. They were the color the sky was before the factories were turned on and their gasses blocked it out; the most beautiful and chilling eyes Jaden had ever seen. A crooked smile formed on his lips as he gazed at her, and he nodded his head slightly to her, in greeting. He had the demeanor of a killer amongst his own kind, and it frightened Jaden. Blushing, she quickly averted her eyes.

Jaden looked to James, who had been watching her the whole time. "Well," he said, glancing around, "shall we?" He looked to Maddox and nodded to the door, "Would you be kind enough to fetch my student something to eat Maddox?" he asked. His gaze shifted to Jaden, though he still spoke with the man, saying, "She looks positively ravenous."

Maddox sneered slightly and said, "of course." He turned and left the room.

Jaden looked around, confused. "Come here Jaden," James ordered, coming out from behind his desk. She rose and moved towards him as the door opened behind her. She reached the desk as a sudden pain shuddered through her. She winced and braced herself heavily on the desk, not knowing what was causing her body to react in such a way. James put his arm around her and forced her to turn around.

Now sitting in the chair that Jaden had just vacated was an old man, staring sightlessly forward. Jaden shuddered and looked away from him, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and gritting her teeth. "Now Jaden," James chided gently, "you won't get far as a Vampire if you cringe away from any human that gets in close proximity to you."

Jaden, trying to get a grip on her trembling body, glared at James and softly exclaimed, "Fuck you! I didn't ask for any of this!"

James smiled wryly, saying, "And yet you got it!" He addressed the large Vampire saying, "Maddox, get him on his feet." Maddox grinned and hauled the old man to his feet by the scruff of his neck. Guiding Jaden towards the two men, James whispered, "now is when you take your last step out of your old life," in her ear. "You cannot back out now. The longer you wait to make your first kill, the harder it will be to contain yourself until your next." She looked at him, genuine fear in her eyes.

Jaden looked at the old man, "why doesn't he move?" she asked, confused.

Maddox, who now held the man up by his armpits, said, "he's a deaf-mute who is blind. He has no idea what is going on."

Jaden closed her eyes for a moment, and then let James push her to stand right in front of the old man. She looked into his face, and asked, "What is his name?"

"Jude," was Maddox's brusque reply.

Jaden's head was throbbing painfully now, and as she lowered her mouth to the old man's neck, she paused, wincing. "Goodbye Jude," she whispered, just before she sank her teeth into the flabby flesh of his throat.


	18. Afterwards

_**Thanks for the reviews people...JG...this has some language...nothing too bad though**_

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She felt his body stiffen and shudder against her, and a strangled sound burst from his lips but she was beyond caring; oblivious to anything but the sweet, pure, hot blood that gushed into her mouth. She panted and moaned, as she burrowed deeper into the old man's neck. She bit into the other side of his throat, discovering a large vein filled with the crimson glory. Her body throbbed as she drank, pulsating in sexual bliss. Too soon, she was unable to get any more blood from him, no matter how she tried. 

Panting, she stepped away from the old man. Her eyes were closed, but she willed them open to see what she had done. When she saw Maddox unceremoniously drop him to the ground, Jaden could see that she had nearly taken a large chunk out of his neck. What was worse was, she felt no remorse. In fact, she was thrilled and aroused by the site, which made her feel dirty. What else had the Turn done to her?

Andrew finally glanced up at the girl. He had been unable to even look at her before, for fear of either laughing hysterically at her reaction or throw her to the ground and fuck her brains out. The moans and groans she'd made while feeding were highly arousing and slightly embarrassing. Andrew deeply hoped that upon his first kill, he didn't act in such a way. In the beginning of the Newborn's feeding, Maddox had caught Andrew's eye, and grinned savagely, guessing that Andrew would dearly love to be where the other man was. While trying to divert his attention, he looked around to his teacher, Vanessa, who was inspecting her nails, a look of disapproval on her face. James was smiling sinisterly, a glint of triumph in his eyes. Andrew didn't know who the girl was, but he knew now that this feeding was some sort of victory for the Vampires. Who could she be though, he wondered.

Looking at her, Andrew saw the girl was trembling, as she stared down at her quivering hands. The look on her face was hard to determine, whether she was just thinking, was experiencing some sort of pleasure or was terrified, Andrew didn't know, but he could see by the flush of her cheeks and the raggedness of her breath, she was clearly as aroused as him, if not more. She stumbled away from the corpse, staggering into James. He grabbed her by the elbows, to steady her swaying body. Andrew saw James lean forward and murmur something in the girl's ear. She stiffened and seemed now unable to catch her breath.

"Oh dear God, what have I done?" she gasped, crumpling to her knees, burying her face in her hands, as her shoulders shook with silent sobs. Andrew glanced up at James and saw a mocking smile on his lips. Whatever he'd said to the girl, it had had the desired effect upon her, and Andrew had never seen James happier.

Just as he considered going to her, James' voice snapped him back to attention. "Andrew, take my student back to her chambers," his ultimate superior ordered.

Andrew bowed murmuring a near-coherent "Yes Sir," and pulled the girl to her feet. She seemed incapable of bearing her own weight; Andrew had to half carry her back to her rooms. The whole time, she was silent and trembling like a leaf.

They were nearly there, when around the corner came a troupe of Faithfuls. There must have been six of them or so, causing Andrew to stop dead in his tracks. Clenching his teeth so hard, he thought they would shatter; he allowed the humans to bustle past, nary a drop of blood spilled. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done; he smelled blood, and he knew that along with grinding his teeth, he'd balled his hands into such tight fists that his nails had drawn blood. The smell of it aroused the Lust even more, and his wished nothing more than to turn and go after the humans; but his pitiful state was nothing like that of the girl at his side. She bared her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, her body going rigid. She buried some of her face in Andrew's chest, as if to find some sort of protection from the Lust there.

The effects of the Lust faded from Andrew much faster than they did from the girl. The two of them stood in the hallway, the girl pressed up against his chest, clinging to him, for a moment, though Andrew wished it was more. When they reached her rooms, he led her to her bed, pulled back the covers, and gently guided her between the sheets. "Sleep," he murmured, laying a hand on her forehead, her eyelids drooping. "Sleep," he repeated as he withdrew from the room.


	19. Blood Lust and Angry Words

**_thanks for the reviews peeps...JG_**

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Jaden awoke feeling strangely well rested. She didn't want to climb out from under the blankets; so warm and close, like a hug. She rolled over and yelped, flying backwards out of the bed, scrambling away from the woman leaning against the wall next to her bed.

Vanessa Cartier grinned devilishly and murmured, "good evening."

Jaden, trying to return her breathing back to normal, climbed to her feet. When she opened her mouth to speak, Vanessa held up a hand and said, "Save it. I don't care." Jaden frowned, which made Vanessa's smile widen. She threw a fluffy bathrobe at Jaden, instructing her to shower and then put it on.

Taking it, Jaden scurried into a newly discovered bathroom off her chambers, and closed the door. Sighing heavily she leaned against in, rubbing her eyes, and just as she got calm, there was a loud pound on the door and a yell of, "Now Korr!" from the other side.

Sighing, Jaden stripped and stepped into the shower, the hot water soothing her raw nerves as she tried to wash the dirty feeling from her skin. When she was washing herself, she noticed that a bump on her side, which had become so familiar, was gone. The scar from her first mission, in which a vampire threw a dagger that sliced her side open, was gone. Gone also was the jagged burn mark on her left thigh, when she'd had a Vampire throw acid on her leg.

Every blemish, every imperfection of the skin she had gotten since birth, was gone. The parts of herself that she disliked were fixed; her assets were improved. When after she got out of the shower, she rubbed the steam from the mirror and saw someone who looked like her, but wasn't quite, staring back. It was Jaden, but perfect. She held her head in her hands, and then rubbed her neck.

She froze. She had discovered another difference. Lifting her hair, she discovered two marks on either side of her neck; terrible looking wounds that were scabbed over, leaking slightly.

Unceremoniously, Jaden threw on the robe Vanessa had given her, and burst into the bedroom, yelling, "What did you do to me?"

Vanessa, who had been talking with an unseen person out in the corridor, turned to Jaden and raised an eyebrow. She smiled, and said gently, in the kind of tone one would use to explain something to an idiot child, "we made you a Vampire, dear."

Jaden scowled, "I know that!" she said exasperatedly. "I meant, what happened to the scar that was here," she laid a hand on her side, "or the burn make here?" she tapped her leg. "Where did they go?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest, then realized that it had grown, "And why do I have more of certain other features?" she asked, a little embarrassed, waving her arms in the general direction of her breasts.

Vanessa laughed slightly and asked, "didn't they teach you _anything_ about the Turn in your precious Academy?" When Jaden frowned, she continued with a sigh, "When a Vampire is Turned, physical imperfections are eliminated or modified, and the already capable assets are intensified or enhanced."

Jaden, suspiciously said, "Okay. But," she pulled down the neck of her bathrobe, and asked, trying to hide the trembling in her voice, "how do I get rid of this?"

Vanessa frowned and stepped forward to inspect the wounds on Jaden's neck. She touched one, ignoring how Jaden flinched away. Shaking her head Vanessa simply said, "In time, those will heal. Those are the marks of your Turn, and you should be proud." Jaden stared incredulously.

"Proud?" Jaden repeated indignantly.

Smiling slightly Vanessa nodded. "They give you status. Humans will know to serve you should they not recognize you. The marks will show you are not a Faithful, but a fledgling Vampire." Jaden frowned, and opened her mouth to say something, when Vanessa cut her off saying, "The marks will fade when you have consumed enough blood. Don't worry though, two months tops, and they will be gone without a trace."

Vanessa turned to leave, but Jaden stopped her, saying, "Um, Vanessa?" the woman turned and raised her eyebrows, Jaden blushed and averted her eyes, asking, "what do I wear?"

The other woman smirked slightly, and opened the door to the armoire that Jaden had been leaning against, showing her two racks of clothing. One rack was formal clothing, with dresses that were so expensive looking that Jaden dared not touch them; then the other side was filled with regular, casual wear. She chose to wear a pair of blue jeans, and a green t-shirt. Feeling slightly chilled, she pulled on a green sweater as well. Once Jaden was dressed, Vanessa motioned for her to follow, and led her from the room.

Ten minutes later, Jaden was led into James' office. He smiled slightly at her, when he glanced up from his desk. As he got to his feet, he asked how she was feeling. After she answered that she felt tired, he smirked slightly.

"What?" Jaden asked, raising an eyebrow and folding her arms over her chest.

Still smirking, James replied, "Fatigue is the first sign that you need to consume blood. I believe that you have drank more blood in your first day of existence as a Vampire, than most do in a month!" He glanced to Vanessa and said, "You can leave now," before turning his gaze back to Jaden.

Jaden looked away, a quiet part of her wondering what sort of a monster she'd become. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vanessa exit the room, pulling the door closed behind her. James, who was chuckling, opened a section of the armoire behind his desk, and drew out a large bottle, filled with blood. Jaden hissed slightly, wincing, when her senses suddenly attuned to it, and there was a throbbing ache that suddenly arose in her mouth. The older vampire filled a glass and carried it over to his student.

When she made a reach for it, James held it away from her, smiling mockingly. Jaden whimpered unintentionally, and James grinned. Still taunting her, James drained the glass before her eyes, struggling to keep a straight expression upon seeing the look of horror, shock, and Blood Lust on the face of the former Agent. She made a slight strangled sound, not unlike a mouse getting run over by a car, and stared at him in outraged shock.

James couldn't help but laugh, and laugh he did; cruel, loud and mockingly as the Agent stood before him, overcome with her Lust and outrage. Still chuckling, he poured the girl a glass of blood, and held it out to her. As she took it, James said quietly, "do not drink too quickly, or the Lust will take you." Nodding, Jaden took the glass. "Savor it," James murmured as she brought the glass to her lips, "make it last, for you have the time." Nodding, she drained the glass slowly.

As soon as the blood touched her lips, she felt an undeniable urge to just drain it, fast, so as not to put off the pleasure of it. But she fought the feeling, forcing it away, slowly drinking in the splendor. She stood trembling, her eyes closed, as James took the glass from her limp hand. When he laid his hands on her shoulders, she felt something rise up in her, like a snake of flames rising from the ashes. Her eyes snapped open, she saw world was red, and, the only thing she wanted to do was to slam the man against the wall and drain every last drop of his blood. It pained her just to look at him, for the urge to kill him was so strong. Jaden looked at a blank space on the wall over James' shoulder, commanding her emotions to settle. The turmoil within her mind was agonizing, but slowly she beat it back. Closing her eyes once more, she slowly exhaled, then she opened her eyes to look at James.

James watched his student battle her Blood Lust. He saw the vicious and cold-blooded gaze in her eyes as the Lust turned her irises scarlet. James sensed how very deeply the girl wanted to kill him, to rip his throat out. The girl looked away from him, staring off into space at a wall behind him, a strange look on her face. Soon she squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them blinking rapidly, and stared up at him.

James smiled at her, saying, "Congratulations."

Jaden frowned, "For what?" she asked.

"For managing your Blood Lust," he said simply, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

"Don't touch me!" Jaden snarled, jerking away from James' hands. "You make me into a bloodthirsty freak and you _congratulate_ me?" Her voice had now risen to a yell. She gave James a hard shove in the chest, making him stagger backwards into his desk. "Who the _fuck_ do you think you are? You presume that I'm happy that you made me into this sort of monster." Jaden was positively quivering in her rage.

James gave her a cold look, "I presumed that you wanted to live."

"Not like this," Jaden practically shrieked.

The older Vampire took a menacing step towards his student, "Then how, pray tell, did you want to?" he took another step, "Did you want the Organization find out about your heritage and have you executed? Or did you wish for one of the Nichelle enemies take you and use you against us, using you as a trainer for their newborns, or as some sex toy?" James was an inch away from her, staring down into Jaden's face.

Jaden mumbled something as she tried to back away, terrified in the change in the man, but James wasn't going to let her back down so quickly. He continued advancing as she retreated, and in a few steps, Jaden was pressed up against the office door, with nowhere to run. James gripped his student's chin and forced her to look up at him, "Would you rather I'd killed you?" he hissed, his hand traveling down her neck, a sharp nail digging into the flesh above her jugular. Jaden cried out in shock and lashed out at James.

Her wild punch landed on his jaw, making his lurch to the side. As James stumbled slightly, Jaden hooked her foot under his leg, jerking it from under him. He crashed to the ground. Jaden whirled around to yank open the door and flee, but something heavy slammed into her from behind, crushing her into it.

Viciously, James dug his teeth into the girl's neck. Jaden screamed in agony, clawing at the door, trying to push the other Vampire away. She could hear his breath, ragged in her ear as he drank her blood. Then James released her neck and threw her to the ground.

The girl lay facedown on the floor, her Vampire Master standing over her, licking her blood from his lips. Looking down at her with loathing, James snarled, "It wasn't my choice to Turn and train you. If I'd had my way, you'd never have lived to see the compound, _Agent_," he said the words with such disgust that Jaden knew he spoke the truth. "Because of _you_," he spat, "your _father_ has taken over _my_ job, so that I could play baby-sitter for someone's mistake." The Vampire turned, yanked open the door and shouted "Maddox!" out it. An instant later the huge man appeared in the doorway. He jerked his head in Jaden's direction and ordered, "bring her," as he strode out the door. Roughly, Maddox pulled Jaden to her feet, shoving her in the direction of the entranceway.

Jaden was led along a long corridor, down an elevator, then through a security door, into an area that didn't look too different than the holding cells in the lower levels of the Organization's compounds. The entire area was a labyrinth of cement. The place looked and felt familiar, and she dreaded wherever James was bringing her to.


	20. Agent Patrick Donahue

**_hey, sorry it took a while to update...i had exams, and my school decided to give a lot of tests on the last days...but its ok...cause school's out...love all ya who reviewed_**

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She was brought to a windowless room that had many locked cabinets lining the walls. A table and a few chairs sat in the middle of the room. Roughly and wordlessly, Maddox pushed Jaden into a chair and remained standing behind her, hands on her shoulders. James opened one of the cabinets and extracted a small bottle of a cloudy white liquid. Taking a syringe from a nearby drawer, filling it with the strange substance. Sitting on the edge of the table beside her, James said in a soft voice, "I may be forced to train you, but that does not mean I have to put up with bullshit like your little temper tantrum back in my office. This will be but a taste of what I can do."

Jaden frowned, afraid and confused. Next thing she knew, Maddox seized her arm in a vice like hold and slammed it down on the table. He'd struck a nerve ending on the tabletop, causing numbness to shoot up and down her arm. At that instant, James stabbed the needle into her arm, slowly pushing the plunger. Jaden howled in agony as the serum entered her bloodstream, her veins felt as if they were burning in an inferno.

As soon as James withdrew the needle from her arm, Maddox released her. Almost instantly, Jaden slumped off her chair, thudding onto the concrete flood, curling into the fetal position. As she writhed in pain, the world around her seemed to go black, until it was as if she was floating in a pool of night; still able to breath, but unable to move or see.

For what seemed like hours, Jaden tried to escape the blackness, until in a rush of pain and blinding light, she was brought back to her body. She found herself sprawled out on a cold patch of concrete floor. She could smell blood. She could taste death, but she didn't know why.

She moved her head and scrambled back from the sight before her with a scream of terror. Jaden had awoken to stare into the eyes of a corpse. The man's head rested at an odd angle, and there was a great blood pool around him, which Jaden now realized she had been lying in. His entire body showed signs of torture, and the look on his face made it very clear that his passing had not been peaceful. She sat huddled in the corner, having a staring contest with the deceased one. From somewhere across the room, she heard a chuckle.

Jaden's eyes jerked away from the bloody sight before her to the sound of the voice. Leaned up against the wall, laughing coldly, stood James. When his laugher subsided, he took one look at Jaden and began mocking her again; his laughter echoing off the walls of the concrete room. "What is so funny?" Jaden snarled, painfully rising to her feet. Her head was pounding and her mouth ached; she knew that she needed and wanted blood, but she tried to hide it. When fully upright, she glared hatefully at the older man.

Finally controlling himself James answered, "the look on your face." He sneered, "It was priceless!"

"Fuck off," Jaden spat, awkwardly climbing over the corpse and making her way towards the door.

"What, don't you want to stay to admire your work?" James asked, a hint of mockery in his voice.

Jaden turned towards him slowly and wearily asked, "What are you talking about?"

He smirked and gestured to the body saying, "That."

Jaden's eyes followed his gesture and asked, "Who is he?" When she looked back to him, he gave a look of wide-eyed innocence.

"You don't remember?" he asked, in all image, sincerely confused. "It was to you that he admitted he was Agent Patrick Donahue."

"What?" Jaden asked, her voiced cracking slightly. Patrick Donahue had been in her graduating class of the Academy; her former boyfriend; her friend. _It couldn't be_, a shocked voice said in her head. Jaden staggered against the wall, heart hammering. "You're lying," she breathed, eyes wide.

James smiled and shook his head, "nope, sorry Korr, but no," he replied, "It was you who interrogated him tonight and determined him a spy for the Organization."

"No," Jaden said adamantly, shaking her head. "I'd never betray or hurt the Agents. _Never_."

James rolled his eyes and said, "well then it's a wonder what one can do when stoned out of their mind on obedience drugs."

"Obedience drugs?" she asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

Smiling, James replied, "Yup," he feinted a look of fascination as he added, "its amazing what acts one can do, when they are not in control of themselves."

What he was saying sunk in an instant later. Rage rose in Jaden's chest as she screamed, "_You fucking bastard_! You made me kill an Agent!"

James's eyes shifted back and forth and he said simply, "Yes." Jaden screamed in wordless fury, swinging a wild punch at him. James was expecting such a reaction; he grabbed her arm and flipped her over his hip, slamming her into the ground. Jaden twisted out of his grip, rolling to her feet and kicking out. He seized her leg and jerked it out from under her, sending her crashing to the ground. When Jaden tried to regain her footing, he kicked her in the side, causing her to collapse down to the floor again. James reached down and seized by the hair, dragging his student to her feet, saying calmly, "didn't you learn anything from our last disagreement?"

Jaden punched him in the stomach and his grip on her hair slipped, and she yanked free, dashing out the door. She tore down the corridor, running as fast as she could. The entire complex seemed to be a labyrinth of cement and florescent lighting. When she rounded one corner, she slammed into a woman wearing what looked like a nurse's uniform, knocking her to the floor. During the instances that she was tangled up with the nurse, Jaden's panic level mounted higher. She struggled to her feet and began sprinting down the hall again.

As a student at the Academy, she had been forced to run great distances. Once the physical education professor made the students run for 3 miles before being allowed to drink and have a rest. As an Agent, Jaden was unbeatable; she could run as fast as she possibly could for 2-and-a-half miles before her hands started to tremble. But as a Vampire, she felt invincible. She knew she'd been running hard for several minutes, but she didn't even feel short of breath.

She came to a new section of hall. One part lead left, the other right. It was chose one direction or go back the way she came. She chose left. After sprinting maybe a hundred yards, a door burst open beside her, and an instant later agony laced through her entire being. Falling to her knees, she gasped, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water would, clutching at her chest.

Jaden collapsed, rolling onto her back as she stared up at the ceiling. Into her vision loomed James, and he looked viciously pleased. Jaden then grew very afraid as possibly scenarios of what he was about to do played out in her head. Already he'd drugged her. What would he do next, she wondered as her vision faded and she lost consciousness for the second time that night.


	21. Author's note

**_Hey people…i'm sorry for this lame thing, and possibly making you think i updated...i just realized i had some errors in my chapters...and i needed to fix them._**

**_sorry to get yur hopes up and such...Julianne Graham_**


	22. A Dream of a Different Past

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_For all her life, she was meant to be an Agent. It was the Organization that raised her, for her father was always too busy to nurture her. Being Chief Commander would do that to a man. Jaden wanted to prove to her father that she could be as great as he, and that she'd been raised right. _

_As if he read her thoughts, Chief Commander Korr wrapped his arm around his daughter and murmured, "I'm very proud of you, Jaden. You've come so far, and worked so hard; and now that is finally all paying off." He looked off into space, continuing, "one day, you'll see, Agent Jaden Korr will be a force to be reckoned with. Children will chant your name; while your enemies will fear it."_

_Jaden smiled, almost shyly and said, "thank you, sir," as formal as always. Chief Commander Korr was her leader first, and her father second. _

"_Aw, isn't that sweet," a voice sneered behind them. Jaden and her father whirled around, confronting a handsome man in his late twenties, who was sitting on the front steps of someone's apartment building. He had vivid read hair and shocking green eyes. He was the kind of man who would have made Jaden swoon if she were a typical girl. Fortunately for her, she wasn't. He looked perfect; everything faultless except for his waxy white skin. Jaden also knew who he was. He was Ian Cross; leader of the League of Danall. "Well, well, well," the Vampire said, getting to his feet, his eyes on Jaden. "Nathan, where are your manners? You haven't introduced me to your lovely young escort." His brilliant eyes swept over the girl in a disgusting way. _

"_What do you want, Cross?" Commander Korr said, stepping in front of his daughter slightly._

_Cross laughed hollowly and replied, "you know what I want." In an instant, Jaden and her father were surrounded. There were at least a dozen of them, closing in on them from all sides. Jaden moved so her back was to her father and she could see all that went on behind him. It was most likely that the Vampires wanted him over her, so watching his back would be more beneficial to them than watching Cross speak. _

_As she turned, Jaden subtly reached down and pressed on one of the charms on her bracelet. The pressure activated a homing device that provided location, audio and her vital information to whomever received the signal. As the Chief Commander's daughter, and only child, her protection was highly important. _

_Behind her, she heard Cross say, "Give up, and you may be allowed to live."_

"_HA," her father exclaimed. "As if you would allow me to live. Any power you held over the city would be jeopardized while I lived. No, I will not give up; neither here, nor my office."_

"_What if it were not _your_ life at stake?" Cross asked. Without a word spoken, two Vampires lunged forward and seized Jaden. As Jaden struggled in their grip, she felt her consciousness rise. She no longer saw the world through her own eyes, but as a bystander. Looking around, she saw herself, only at the age of fifteen. _

"_No!" Commander Korr yelled, reaching out to help his child, only to be blocked by a wall of Vampires. He whirled around to face Cross and said through gritted teeth, "Don't you dare hurt her. You can have all you want; just don't harm her."_

"_How can I hold you to your promises?" Cross asked, leaning forward so he was but an inch from Korr's face._

"_You're creative," Korr retorted, "you'll think of something."_

_Cross gave him a mystified look, and said, "you know what Korr? I do believe I have an idea." He turned to Jaden, not the fifteen year old in the arms of Vampire henchmen, but the eighteen year old observer and said, "Come here, Jaden. Dear."_

_Jaden was too petrified to move. Ian Cross addressed her. This was not the same as what had happened that night, three years ago. But something pushed Jaden towards him, and before her eyes, Ian Cross morphed into James, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. And the alley she was standing in shifted and she stood in James's office, cringing away from Jude, who stood before her, as still as if her were already dead. "Now Jaden," James chided gently, "you won't get far as a Vampire if you cringe away from any human that gets in close proximity to you."_

_Jaden looked at him, tears in her eyes, and she whispered, "I don't want to do this."_

_James coldly smiled and replied, "and yet you _are_." _

_Roughly, James pushed her at Jude, and she fell into him. Blood Lust instantly rose, and she wanted nothing more than his life, but before she sunk her razor sharp fangs into him, she whispered, "Goodbye." _

_She felt his body stiffen and shudder against her, and a strangled sound burst from his lips but she was beyond caring; oblivious to anything but the sweet, pure, hot blood that gushed into her mouth. She panted and moaned, as she burrowed deeper into the man's neck_. _Her body throbbed as she drank, pulsating as if nearing orgasm. She felt that it was heaven. Too soon though, heaven disappeared. She was unable to get any more blood from him. She'd drunk it all. She was so thirsty. She desperately wanted more. _

_A scream pulled her back to reality. She dropped the body, ready for an attack. But it never came. A girl kneeled before Jaden, cradling the body in her arms; the body of her father. Tears streamed down her face, as she rocked, back and forth, holding her father to her chest. _

_Jaden impassively looked down upon her past self. Her body ached in the need for more blood. She was so thirsty. The Vampire reached down to her younger self and squeezed a hand around her neck, lifting her off her feet and slamming her into the alley wall. Savagely, she ripped into the girl's throat, blood dripping down her cheeks, and running down her neck. It was so sweet, so nourishing, and yet, too soon it was all gone. She was so thirsty; she needed more; she was so _thirsty

Jaden burst from unconsciousness, screaming in her need for blood. She thrashed but could not rise from lying down. Wildly glancing around, she realized she was strapped to a bed. Blood Lust mounting by the second, she howled in pain as her body throbbed with pain. All she saw was _red_, and she felt that if she did not drink soon, she would _die_.

The room she was in was all cement, so her screams bounced back at her, taunting her. She convulsed and strained against her bonds, but they never gave a hint of giving way. She was panicking. She clenched her jaw and twisted her hands. Doing anything to break free.

"You really _do_ have no self control," a voice said from the corner of the cement cell, after what seemed like hours of thrashing. Jaden's head snapped in the direction of the sound. James entered the room, leaving the door open behind him.

In his hand was a wine glass, and it contained blood. Jaden could sense it, rather than see it, and she began struggling with further zeal. She had to get it; she _had_ to. James drained the glass before her eyes. Screaming in frustration and Blood Lust, Jaden revealed inch long incisors, yearning to sink into flesh.

"You said you were a monster," James observed, "and that is what you will be if you don't learn any self control." He knelt down beside the cot she was strapped to, ignoring how she snapped at him, and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. Jaden froze, remaining as still as she could, hoping if she was unmoving, she'd be released, and she could get blood. "You obviously don't know the consequences to no discipline," he said, in a dreamy sort of way, "if you continue on the path you are on, you shall end up either killed by me or by an Agent." He stared her in the eye, making sure she was listening before calmly continuing, "Blood Lust is natural, but if you don't learn to hide it, an Agent will pick you off from a mile away. And it is understandable to be angry in the situation you're in; but you will find that lashing out at a fellow Vampire or even a Faithful will have consequences. The penalties for assaulting me, are dire." Giving her a crooked smile, he rose and made for the door. Before exiting, he turned and said bluntly, "Get a hold of yourself Korr, or you'll find yourself in this room for a very long while. Until you've learnt some level of self restraint, you shall remain here." James turned on his heel and left, slamming the door behind him.

"_NO_!" Jaden screamed, her voice cracking, and she howled in rage at the departed Vampire. "_You can't leave me here, you fucking bastard_," she shrieked, thrashing against the straps, holding her in her concrete prison. She was _so_ thirsty.


	23. Where is She?

**_hey...sorry it took me so long to get this done...i had to go to a party for my Grandmother, and i didn't have access to a computer for a while, and i also ran into some writer's block...hope ya like this, and htis may have some offensive language...JG_**

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James was lying awake, staring at the ceiling when Ashmore discovered his daughter missing. The furious father burst into James's room, unannounced. "Where is my daughter?" he thundered, slamming the door shut and flicking on a light. The girl sleeping next to James groaned slightly, and pulled the blankets higher to hide her face from the brightness.

James just rolled his eyes, sat up, looked at Ashmore, and said, "For eighteen years, you haven't seen her, and now you care about where she is?" he shook his head and gave him a sarcastic thumbs up, saying, "G'job. You deserve a medal or something."

"Where is she?" Ashmore repeated through gritted teeth. He was furious. James had always treated him as an inferior instead of an equal; now his own child was hidden from him.

James smirked at Ashmore, then turned away, lifting the blankets slightly and addressing the girl huddled underneath, "fetch me my clothes, if you please." She frowned unhappily and climbed out from under the sheets.

She was completely nude. James could see how Ashmore was following her movements out of the corner of his eye, as she fetched James's clothing from its places around the room. Without so much as a glance at the other man, the girl brushed past him and handed the garments to James. He accepted them with a nod and told her to leave. She nodded her head, smiled and scooped up her clothes, only pulling on a short dress to cover her nakedness. James pulled his underwear and pants on underneath the covers to avoid any awkwardness, and swung out from underneath the covers. He stood up, as he did up his pants. "You were saying?" he inquired. He knew that standing there with no shirt, displaying his muscular body made him intimidating.

Ashmore, before his Turn, had been a bookish kind of man. The women found him handsome, but he was the attractive lawyer, who went golfing on the weekends, and only lifted pens and paper. His rule over the Nichelle was mainly bloodlines and pencil pushing. James on the other hand, was Ashmore's opposite.

Before his Turn, James was a person who was always active. He often would run more than a mile every day. His life was hard and he had the body for it. He'd had multitudes of one-night-stands, picking up women in bars and such, attracting them to his rock hard body like moths to a flame. When his Turn happened, his already ripped muscles were toned and shaped even more. His rule over the Nichelle was won through strength, determination, strategically planning and sacrificing in times of need. James hated how high Ashmore had been able to climb, when he'd had to fight so hard for his place.

Ashmore cleared his throat and looked away, replying bashfully, "I'd like to know where my child is."

James smirked and told him, "She is currently taking a time out." He bent to pick up his shirt off the bed, continuing, "Your daughter has quite a nasty temper. She needs some time to think about what she's done."

Ashmore glared and taking a step towards the older Vampire, snapped, "and what does that mean?"

"Exactly what I said," James snarled in reply, advancing menacingly towards the other man. "You forget yourself. _Boy_." Many years of simmering anger was threatening to boil over as James moved towards Ashmore. "You forget with whom you are dealing," his voice was a soft hiss, "Korr is my student, and you shall not interfere with my teachings."

Ashmore held his ground, foolishly. James was several inches taller, and was heavier in pure muscle mass. "But –" he tried, only to be overruled by the other.

"But nothing, _Ben_," James snarled, "Korr is _mine_. Should I choose, I could fuck her from here to Aldrea, _**A.N. – Aldrea (all-drea like in dream-ah) is a city very far away from where they are at…he he…yes, I made up the name, I like it…don't you?**_ and back again, and there would be nothing you could say against it. When it comes to my student, my judgment is highest. You know the rules." When Ashmore sputtered an incoherent reply, James added in a would-be reasonable voice, "Granted, I would never go anywhere near her cunt; if that is what you're worrying about." James brushed past him, and whispered in Ashmore's ear as he passed, "Although, if she asked nicely; that's another story." He smirked at the look of loathing Ashmore sent him, and swept out of the room, pulling on a shirt as he went.

Chief Commander Reginald Porter slammed his fist down upon the files on his desk. "Where is she?" he roared.

The nervous looking Agent in front of him replied, "We have no idea, sir. She has vanished, without any trace or warning." The man fidgeted as the Chief glared at him in rage.

"You mean to tell me, one of our top Agents has been missing for a _week_, and there is no slightest hint of where she could be?" Porter asked vehemently. "For Christ's sake man," he said, throwing his hands in the air in frustration, "she has dedicated her life, and given up her father for The Organization, and suddenly she's gone A-Wall?" He shook his head, "something's happened. Someone got to her. That has to be it." Porter turned away from the Agent and looked out the window behind his desk.

The Agent behind him quietly said, "Sir, if any of the Leagues had Agent Korr, they would be either singing in the streets or demanding pay or even marching on our Command Center. How likely do you think it is that a League took her, and then didn't celebrate?"

Porter turned back to the Agent, asking, "What do you mean?"

"Jaden Korr is a very hated Agent by the enemy," he replied, "_if_ they have her, they'd flaunt to the world that they have in their control, the dreaded, loathed, Agent Jaden Korr, Bane of the Long-Lived."

Porter raised and eyebrow, "I have never heard her called the _Bane of the Long-Lived_. When did that one come into play?"

The Agent blushed a little, "I was just trying to get my point across," he defensively answered. "My point was that Korr would be a great asset to them, dead or alive. So why aren't they using her? They obviously would have used her by now, if any League had her, sir."

"Maybe you're right," Porter sighed, slumping down into his chair, rubbing his face. Tiredly he looked up and ordered, "Wipe Korr out of the security system. Take away all clearance that she had; she is not allowed inside the bathroom in the Command Center, let alone in the front door. I don't want her disappearance to come back and haunt us. Also, delegate a team from Day Shift to look into where she could be civilian-wise. Unlikely she's still alive, but maybe they can find her body. Be sure that every team knows to be on watch for her, and to be cautious upon encountering her; the last thing we need is to find out she switched sides after its too late. If contact is made, she is to be brought to us. You're dismissed." The Agent bowed slightly, and turned to leave. "Wait," Porter called. The Agent stopped and turned. "Also send in a Day Shift team to see whatever the hell happened to Kay McGinnis. She also went missing around the same time as Korr. And, the Day Commander hasn't shut up about it for a while. Tell the Agents looking into it, that the two women live in the same Apartment complex. Two disappearances in one building, is a bit too much of a coincidence. Find out where they are." He ordered, "You may go now."

When the Agent was gone, Porter turned his chair so he could look out into the night. _Where are you, Jaden?_ He thought. _You've gotten yourself out of such messes_, he mused, _you can get yourself out of this I'd bet_.


	24. Her Place Now

**_here's my update...dunno when the next one will be, i got a job so i dunno when i'll get the chance to write more...but i made this one longer so you'd get more...JG_**

* * *

She didn't know how long she was locked in the concrete room; far too long, by her standards. For what could have been days, she struggled against the thick leather straps that held her arms and legs to the cot. The straps were positioned so they were impossible to bite, and even if she managed to get a hand free, she was still fucked. There were straps on her biceps, just beyond the reach of her teeth. Also, she had restraints passing over her hips and chest, making it so, even if her arms were free, impossible to sit up. Separate thick strips of leather bound her thighs, calves and ankles.

After what seemed like forever, and probably a broken hand, Jaden wriggled a hand free. She could still only bend her elbow to move her hand, and she couldn't bend to reach the other strap on her arm. Frustrated, she tried jerking her arm, in hopes to break the strap. It did work a little. Again and again, she thrashed her arm upwards, until eventually, the band of leather snapped.

Savagely grinning in her success, she ripped the bond away from her other arm, before proceeding to pull off the restraints to her chest. A few moments later, she was standing in the middle of the room, wondering what to do next. The door James had exited out of had no handle on the inside, and looked to be solid concrete. It probably also had a steel reinforcement. She wouldn't be going out that door until someone on the outside opened it.

Pacing back and forth until she was sure she'd wear a hole in the concrete floor, it was apparent that she was going a little insane. She couldn't stop wringing her hands and images of bloody scenes passed before her eyes. There were instances when Blood Lust loomed up inside her so powerfully that she was forced to her knees gasping for air as her mind was invaded with a terrible thirst for blood.

Eventually, after a particularly bad instance of Blood Lust, Jaden was unable to rise again. She lay pathetically on the floor in a heap, aching in her need, yet unable to abate it. Her eyes rolled back into her head as a more intense bout of Lust seized her. With the feeling of drowning in a pool of blood, Jaden lost all track of time and what went on around her.

When she awoke, it was because the room seemed to heave in what could only be explained as an explosion. Weakly, Jaden pushed herself up into a sitting position. The slight movement caused her head to throb and her want for blood seemed to increase ten fold with the change of altitude. Body wanting to lose consciousness, Jaden slowly forced herself to stand. She could sense something coming; she didn't know what or how, but she knew that she didn't want to be huddled in a heap on the floor when it came. Swaying slightly on her feet, Jaden could hear what sounded like a far off explosion. As she stared at the ceiling in apprehension, the door burst open. Her exhausted mind watched distantly as her cell was invaded by people.

"Damn it, I thought she was tied up," a large Vampire said, striding into the room. Who was he, Jaden's foggy mind wondered. Marcus? No. Mathew? Definitely not. Ma…Ma…Maddox! That was it. Maddox.

Oblivious to Jaden's inebriated state, Maddox pinned Jaden to the nearest wall with his forearm pressing into her throat. "Clear," he called to someone outside Jaden's prison cell. James strode in looking slightly harassed, but he smirked slightly when he saw the condition of the restraints on the cot in the corner of the room.

"Can't…breath!" Jaden wheezed as her airway was being crushed under Maddox's arm. The big man gave her a withering look, but lifted his arm slightly, allowing the blue-faced woman to breath better. Sparing her assailant an annoyed glare, she observed that besides Maddox and James, there were six other Vampires present. Two were Vanessa Cartier and the blond Vampire from James' office, Andrew. Three of the new Vampires were men who would have fit in well at the Organization. They looked like bodyguards and when Jaden considered that some of the most powerful Nichelle Vampires were in the same room as her, she guessed that's what they were. The last person was a woman who would have looked completely at home in either a whorehouse or a strip club. She was the sluttiest woman Jaden had ever seen, and Jaden had had experience with a wide variety of people. Annoyed that she was still being held against the wall when it was apparent she wasn't going to harm anyone, Jaden gripped Maddox's wrist and forced the arm pinning her away. From the look of slight shock on the large man's face, he hadn't been expecting Jaden to have the strength to push him away. In fact, the job had been rather easy. Giving him a slight push she moved around and away from him and, directly addressing James and ignoring everyone else, she asked icily, "What the hell is going on?" Whatever had been incapacitating her a moment before, was being funneled and used as fuel to create a cold, dispassionate person, emulating contempt and confidence. A person completely opposite Agent Jaden Korr in other words.

"The Nichelle are under attack," James replied frostily, he held out his hand and took a bag from one of the bodyguards. As he removed items of clothing and handed them to Jaden, he explained, "It would seem that someone has been indiscrete with sensitive information, revealing to our enemies you have joined our ranks. Put that on," he added, indicating the clothes he'd given Jaden. "As we speak, the enemy is ripping apart the Compound to find you. Whether they want you to join them, or to destroy you; we can obviously allow neither to happen." Jaden nodded, the last thing she wanted was to be captured by a different League. "Why haven't you gotten dressed?" James asked irritably.

Jaden gave him a horrified, shock and disgusted look, "I am _not _changing in front of all these people!" she cried indignantly.

James just rolled his eyes in exasperation and told everyone to leave. After the room was cleared of all people but the two of them, he asked, "happy?"

Shooting him a scathing look, turning her back and doing the job very quickly, Jaden stripped and pulled on the new garments. Surveying what she looked like, she furiously turned around, folding her arms over her chest hissing, "I am not going out like this. I look like a total slut."

Surveying her with insulting liberty, James just shrugged as he inspected the shirt that was made of tight black leather-like material, which was so small that it showed skin an inch above her navel and dipped far down her chest. The shirt looked ready to either split or her breasts to burst out with every breath she took. It preposterously had long sleeves. Along with the shirt, she also wore a pair of tight, low-rise, dark colored jeans. They swooped so low that most of her hipbone showed. Jaden hated feeling so exposed, alone in a room with a much stronger man; a stronger Vampire.

James smirked at her and told her, "Obviously, you may not leave this room and go wandering around the Compound or very well the city, as Agent Jaden Korr with the Vampires. We are disguising you as a Newborn of a different master," he strode to the door and opened it. "Ian, come in here," James ordered. Instantaneously, one of the "bodyguards" walked in, holding the same bag that Jaden's new clothes had been in. Ian reached into the bag and withdrew a wig from within. Wordlessly, he handed it to James, who in turn tossed it to Jaden. Vanessa, who'd come in right after Ian had, helped Jaden tuck the last straggly amounts of hair under the wig and secured it with hairpins. James took a small case from the bag and walked towards Jaden as he opened it. The case contained contact lenses. Head being held still by Vanessa, Jaden had contact lenses inserted as James explained, "Until I say so, you are Maria Diaz. That is the _only _name you are to respond to. Understood?" With the last word he gripped her shoulders and shook her hard. Mutely, Jaden nodded. "Good," James gruffly replied. "Ian is your master, you must obey him or your cover will be destroyed. Remember also, Maria is a bloodthirsty being who is prone to violence, so try to stay in character," the last part was said with a sneer.

Jaden frowned, "who is that girl in the hall then?"

Smiling James answered, "Jaden Korr."

"What?" Jaden was stunned. Looking around, she saw that the clothes she had been wearing were gone. Glancing down at the fake hair that hung down on her shoulder, it was the same color as the slutty woman's; Jaden was also willing to bet that her eyes were the same shade of green as well.

Just at that moment, there was an explosion overhead; much louder than the last had been. Grabbing her wrist, her "Master", Ian, pulled her from the room crying, "come on! We have no time to lose."

As they ran past the Vampires waiting out in the hall, Jaden glimpsed a woman who could have easily been mistaken for her. The nine of them sprinted down the hall until they reached a fork. Halting there, James ordered, "Jaden, Vanessa, David and Christof, come with me. Maddox, you take care of the rest of them." The man turned and started running down the hall, followed by the other four. Jaden knew that James had spoken of the imposter when he's said her name. Jaden was going with the other group. She didn't need the shove that Ian gave her to know which direction she was to go in.

After many tense moments of running, ducking through doorways, and stumbling as the floor rocked with explosions, the four of them ended up in a parking garage. It was into a dark green SUV that they threw themselves in as Maddox gunned the engine, sending them speeding out into the dark streets.

They had been underway for less than five minutes when the back windscreen exploded as a dark car pulled up behind them and its passengers opened fire. With a snarl, Andrew, who was seated in the back next to Jaden, drew a gun from his waistband and, sheltered behind his headrest, fired three shots in rapid succession. After the third shot, the car veered sideways crashing into a building. Watching the events unfolding in the rear-view, Maddox sneered commenting, "Three shots Andrew? You _are_ out of practice it seems."

Enraged it seemed, Andrew ground his teeth and retorted, "Didn't you see the gunfire stop after the first shot? As I recall, it would have taken you at least three shots to hit one person. I hit three in three shots." This part was said smugly and arrogantly. It seemed Andrew was an accomplished gunman. Maddox didn't reply, but simply glared at the other Vampire in the mirror. Andrew just smirked and turned to stare out the back window to be sure that they weren't being followed still.

For a short time, things were fine; it seemed the danger had passed. Almost immediately after Andrew had turned around and properly resumed his seat, the window next to Jaden shattered. With a cry of surprise, Jaden threw herself flat onto the seat, practically into Andrew's lap, to her disgust. Ian, on the opposite side of the car, opened his window and perched so his upper body stuck out of the car, while his hips and below remained inside. Turning, he fired several shots at the rooftop across from him. There was a scream in the distance, and Jaden glimpsed a dark shape falling from one of the roofs. "Did you get them?" Maddox asked when Ian lowered himself back into the car and Jaden sat up again.

Panting slightly, Ian nodded slightly, "I think so."

Staring at him for his lack of certainty, Jaden snapped, "Well, don't you think it a good idea if you were completely sure?" Ian turned and gaped at her as if she'd just sprouted another head and tentacles. Rolling her eyes, Jaden snatched his gun from his hand and leaned out the window, staring back in the direction they'd come. Amazingly, Jaden found that she could see clearer than she usually could during the day. Able to see all the way back to the rooftop from which the fire had come from, though it must have been more than a mile behind them. Glimpsing movement, she fired two shots. All movement stopped. She fired one more shot to be sure, aiming for the generator near where the movement had been. The generator exploded magnificently, and even from their far vantage, they could hear the roar and see the dark shapes of bodies thrown high before crashing down into the street.

Settling herself back in her seat, Jaden handed the shocked Vampire his gun and coldly informed him, "You missed a few."

Andrew roared with laugher at the look on Ian's face. Maddox smirked when the enraged Vampire turned around and met the larger man's eye. Still chuckling, Andrew turned to look behind them, surprising everybody when he swore loudly. Without turning he exclaimed, "Fucking shit, we got Agents on our tail."

Terrified Jaden looked behind them. It was true; the distinctive car of the Agent's night watch was speeding up behind them, gaining ground with every passing movement. _Shit_, Jaden thought, _if we are caught, I'll be killed along with the others because of this damnable disguise. Even if I weren't disguised they'll think I've gone over_. Her heart was hammering in her chest. Beside her, she saw Andrew raising his gun, but just when he pulled the trigger, Maddox swerved into a side-street, causing his shot to go wide. As he tried to regain his aim, Jaden snatched the weapon from his grip and fired shots at the front tires of the pursuing vehicle and a few into its front grill, then, taking careful aim, shot the driver of the car. The pursuers swerved and slammed into a lamppost. Jaden's aim had been true; she'd hit the Agent in the shoulder.

Clapping her on the shoulder, grinning, Andrew cried, "Great shot Kor—Diaz." He'd barely caught his mistake. From the driver's seat, Maddox grunted in agreement as he drifted a corner.

Jaden grinned unenthusiastically and settled back in her seat, hoping she didn't know the Agents in the car. Hoping he was alright after the crash. She also hoped that the Vampires didn't see that she was attacking the car directly instead of the occupants.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, as it seemed all pursuit had been shaken off. Ten minutes or so, they pulled into a parking garage and paused by a pillar in the middle of the lot. Maddox opened his window and pressed his hand against the post. There was a chiming sound and then a terrible grating sound. Jaden audibly gasped as the floor in front of the SUV began to break up and part of it sink. An instant later, where unmarked pavement had been, a ramp lead down into a tunnel below the floor.

As if this were nothing out of the ordinary, Maddox proceeded to drive the car down the ramp and they drove through the pitch-black tunnel. For the longest time, the only light was from their headlights, but then, out of the darkness, another car came from the opposite direction, racing towards the exit. Fifteen minutes more of driving and Jaden glimpsed what appeared to be a light; what could have been the end of the tunnel.

The SUV pulled out into another parking lot a moment later. Maddox steered the car out and across the street into the garage of a building there. When he'd parked in the corner of the lot, he switched off the ignition and without a word, got out of the car. Andrew and Ian followed in suit. Reluctantly, Jaden got out as well, but as she did, she could see that this was a chance for her to escape. The garage doors were open, and freedom from the Vampires beyond. She stood still, staring at them, weighing her options. She was still considering what to do when a voice quietly said in her ear, "If you run Jaden, you will not survive to the end of the night."

Turning, she glared up into Andrew's face, snarling, "Is that a threat?"

He shook his head gravely and murmured, "It's was warning. The Nichelle will not give up their prize easily; the Agents will not allow you to be a Vampire and rejoin their ranks; and any other League you make contact with will see you as an Agent first, and a Vampire second. You have no choice but to stay with us." All was said in an undertone, so that Ian and Maddox did not overhear and try to stop Jaden by force.

Jaden took one last look at what was probably her only chance of escape and turned away from it. Andrew was right, she had no choice. Her place was now with the League of Nichelle; with the Vampires.


	25. Birthday Events

Jaden strode down the hall feeling that she'd dressed a little provocatively for a trip to the shooting range. Her top was a lacy red tank top, see-through enough that the black bra she wore underneath showed through. The shirt hugged her curves and it and the bra combined made it look as though her breasts were about to pop out of the garment at any second. The shirt rode high on her hips, whilst the jean miniskirt she wore rode low. She walked with her hands in her pockets, which caused her upper arms to push her breasts forward some more.

Normally, Jaden Korr would never be caught dead in such a demeaning and slutty outfit. But for her current plan, the clothing suited perfectly. Along with the whorish clothing, she wore a sandy blond wig, with all her dark brown tresses carefully tucked below, and green-hazel contact lenses to cover her chocolate brown eyes. The last thing she wanted was to be recognized; and it seemed that nobody did realize that the hated Agent Korr was who they were gawking at.

She'd been staying at this Nichelle compound for a little more than a month, but still, the Vampires, and even some of the Faithfuls, remained hostile and distant. This new compound was much larger than the other, but everybody knew what went on in everybody else's business. They all knew who was fighting and who was fucking. They knew who your Master was and what kind of life you lived before your Turn. If you had nightmares, within a day, there would be someone asking you of you were alright. These people knew _everything_. They also knew who Jaden was, currently and formerly, and that _she_ was the reason why they'd had to vacate their former compound.

Wherever Jaden went in the past month, she received hot glares that followed her from the moment she came into sight, and the looks only cooled when she'd passed beyond view. She was insulted for everything. They smirked if they ever came upon her feeding, and whenever they saw her afterwards. They jeered when she quarreled with James or Ashmore or any other Vampire.

Even the Faithfuls were disrespectful. Faithfuls usually showed courtesy to every Vampire, and the level of sucking up increased with the Vampire's hotness or bloodline. Jaden was of elite blood, and yet she was treated worse than any Newborn. Any Faithful serving her would smirk when she asked for blood. They sniggered behind her back when she was caught up in Blood Lust. Some of them were downright insulting, suggesting sexual actions after her feeding, because they considered her to be sexually charged after drinking blood. What made the suggestions worse was after consuming blood, Jaden truly was erotically stimulated, and it made the humiliation that much more.

So Jaden started going around in disguises after two weeks of hell. She had had to scrap one of her costumes, because the wig had slipped, and a lock of hair had fallen out. She also discovered that if she dressed so her face was not what people would focus on in her first appearance, she was unlikely to be identified. Thus explaining her enticing attire.

Finally, Jaden arrived at the shooting range. It was her most frequented haunt. Nobody there seemed to care who she was, just so long as she didn't shoot anyone mortal. Granted, shooting another Vampire was also frowned upon, but hey, wasn't the end of the world. This morning, she was in a fairly ominous mood, so when she yelled for an all clear, so she could shoot, it was a lot more venomous than she intended.

Leveling her gun at the target, she squeezed off her rounds, putting her fury into propelling the bullets. For some time she continued like this. Reloading and mechanically firing. Her anger ebbed away with each magazine. Her furious heart rate slowed. Breathing was less ragged and sharp, and her head no longer pounded with the anger pent up inside it. It seemed as if, at last, she was free of her anger; that was until she heard a voice behind her.

"You know, you're rather quite good at that."

Jaden froze. It was _him_!Fury boiling in her veins, she whirled around and snarled, "What are you doing here?"

Benjamin Ashmore just smiled pleasantly and replied, "I came to wish you happy birthday of course. Its not every day that one turns nineteen. I feel so guilty for missing all your other birthdays." The last words he said were mocking and sarcastic.

Jaden glared, and growled, "Because of you, today is hardly a happy affair." She put down the gun she had been gripping so tightly upon a counter, not trusting herself to refrain from shooting her "father" if it remained in her grasp.

Ashmore rolled his eyes and said, "God, you're still going on about that? I've heard of women holding a grudge, but this is a little ridiculous."

Giving him a hot glare, she turned away and yelled to the room in general, "I need a gun." Quickly a Faithful scurried out and handed her a new pistol and a few magazines. With a curt nod, Jaden loaded the gun and shouted, "All clear!" In a very short time she'd emptied her magazines and was down to her last. Out of her peripheral vision she'd seen Ashmore come up beside her and lean up against the wall of the range. Turning her head to look straight into the man's eyes, she raised her gun to the target and emptied the magazine, one shot after another in quick succession. She fired until she heard the click of an empty gun trying to fire before she swung the weapon around and pulled the trigger with the barrel of the gun pressed up against her hated half father's forehead. Unfortunately, there was no bullet still inside. The useless weapon only clicked as its parts went through the motions of firing a bullet that was not there. Slamming the gun down on the counter, she stormed out of the room without giving Ashmore a single glance.

When Jaden reached her room, her breathing had slowed and her pulse settled. But her temper was sorely tried when she had to loiter outside her own room for nearly 10 minutes to slip inside unseen. It would not do her cover well if she was seen slipping into hated Agent Korr's room.

Once inside her room, she immediately wished she hadn't entered. Sitting, waiting on the bed, was James. "And what is it _you_ want?" she snarled as she stormed her way over to the wardrobe, and proceeded to pull on a long sweater, which almost was as long as the miniskirt she wore. Turning back she added, "'Cause I'm really not in the mood for cake and ice cream."

James grinned mischievously as he got to his feet and asked her, "Have you never heard the phrase _I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream_?"

Jaden rolled her eyes and retorted hotly, "I _would_ like to see you scream, but most definitely not for _ice cream_."

Giving her a look of admonishment, James asked, "In a murderous mood today, are we?" Sitting back down on the bed, he patted a spot beside him and said in a way that could have been sincere coming from any other person, "Why don't you sit down and tell me what's bothering you?"

Her anger flared as she was treated like a child and she snapped, "Go fuck yourself," in reply.

A smile twitched in the corner of James' mouth right before he cleared his throat in a pretense of awkwardness. He informed her, "As much fun as that sounds, I believe I must pass the offer by, as I have serious business to attend to. Some of which concerns you."

In Jaden's experience with James and the other Vampires, anything concerning her was a bad thing for her health or happiness. Narrowing her eyes at the older Vampire she asked, "Concerning me how?"

He shrugged, "I have some pointers."

Still hostilely suspicious, Jaden glared, "About what?'

James got to his feet and kindly smiled saying, "I've noticed that when you feed, you are a little," he made a face, thinking, "savage."

Jaden scowled and snarled, "Isn't that what I am? A savage?" She was now an inch from the man's face. She was furious. She had finally gotten over being forced to drink, doing it semi-willingly, but it was bad enough to do, knowing what she was coming closer to becoming, without James accusing her of savagery.

Shaking his head, James said, "being a Vampire doesn't make you violent or sadistic, it is how the Vampire copes with their thirst and Blood Lust. When you feed, it need not be so brutal. It may be a delicate and sensual experience if done right."

"Delicate?" Jaden repeated incredulously, "How in fuck's name could _biting_ someone be delicate?"

In a swift movement, James suddenly but lightly gripped Jaden's chin, pushing it to the side, exposing her neck. Terrified by his sudden action, Jaden stiffened, drawing a ragged breath. Quietly, James shushed her, and planted a soft kiss on her neck. The light touch of his lips on her skin sent goose-bumps and shivers all across her body. Closing her eyes, she, for a moment, forgot it was James who was enacting such pleasure. Slowly, she relaxed, and let herself become less rigid. The hand that was resting upon Jaden's jaw slowly ran its way down her neck, pulling down the collar of her sweater. Another kiss was planted on the other side of her neck, and just when Jaden thought James was pulling away, he bit her.

Jaden gasped, arching her back, mouth wide open as she struggled to breath. Fangs extended and Blood Lust rising, Jaden moaned in pain and pleasure as James subtly drank. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close to his muscled body.

All too soon though, James stopped feeding. The instant he drew away, Jaden wanted him to return. "Was that delicately enough for you?" James' mocking voice called Jaden back to reality

Panting, Jaden opened her eyes to glower at him. "Is there anything you actually want?" she snapped, annoyed that she'd let James that close and to cause such a reaction. He now held her at arms length, and was looking down upon her.

Grinning shamelessly, James asked in return, "And you didn't enjoy that?" When all that Jaden could do was sputter in reply, he added, "Now you try."

"What?" Jaden squeaked, jerking away from the man, she began stumbling backwards.

"Trust me Korr," the aloof and arrogant James said, advancing on Jaden's retreat, "it's all worth it." Jaden wasn't watching where she was going, so her fleeing led her to the bed. She hit the back of her knees on the edge of the mattress, causing her to stumble and fall back onto it. James was above her in an instant. "Do it Jaden," he whispered, crouching lower over her, his unprotected throat inches away, "you know you want to."

When Jaden made no move, James shook his head slightly, and turned his head, biting gently into Jaden's neck. She gasped raggedly in his ear, and ran her fingers through his hair and over his back. He fed for only a moment, and when he was through, he rolled off her, pulling her onto his lap as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Jaden was still in a state of ecstasy, so she was basically non-responsive, except for the look of yearning and hunger in her eyes when she looked at James. When she leaned forward, fangs fully extended with a look of devious eagerness, James stopped her and whispered, "slowly." Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Jaden calmed her Blood Lust, which was screaming for relief. When she opened her eyes once more, they were a little less crazed, but they still held a look of hunger. Gingerly, she bent forward and ran her lips over James' neck, searching for the right place. As she bit into his throat, James stiffened and gasped, "gently Jaden. Gently."

A little startled and feeling awkward, Jaden pulled away. She looked at James with wide eyes, and a nervous expression. Kindly smiling, James curled some of Jaden's bangs behind her ear murmuring, "Don't worry; this is a hard thing to do when you've only been rough up to this point. Try just scraping the tips of your teeth across the flesh." Jaden nodded, a little zombie-like. She was still possessed by the need for blood, so under normal circumstances, she wouldn't really be straddling James' lap, and sharing such a personal embrace. She leaned forward and as she ran her lips across his skin, she slid her fangs out as well, leaving a thin trail of blood behind them. Then, as gently as she could, she sucked on the bleeding welts. In her ear, James groaned appreciatively, a sound that made her skin tingle.

When she broke off, she found herself looking deep onto James' eyes. And for an instant, they just stared at each other. Then, James put a hand on the back of her head and pulled her into a hard, passionate kiss.

Jaden tasted blood in James' mouth when he invaded hers with his tongue. The combination of desire and blood made her head reel. Jaden Korr became lost inside her own mind as lust, for both blood and body, overwhelmed her senses.


	26. A Meeting with Liam Neskab

**_Hey...sorry it took so long to update...a job, soccer and school really eat up the time...this chapter has some sorta non concentual stuffie...so ya...nothing too vivid...that'll probly be next chapter._**

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Jaden woke and felt exhausted, and for a moment, had no clue why. Then she shifted her body and felt another mass occupying her bed. Turning her head slightly, she found herself lying sprawled half across a man's chest. She closed her eyes and the first thought that came to mind was _stupid_!!! Which was followed closely by _fucking shit_!

James sighed in his sleep and tried pulling Jaden in closer. _Oh no you don't,_ she thought, easing from underneath his arm, and moving as far away from him on the bed as she could get. Noticing him beginning to stir from the folds of sleep, Jaden quickly feinted that she was in a deep slumber, dead to all things around her. She felt James shift his weight then felt his breath on her face. He snorted softly and Jaden could almost picture the smirk on his lips. Then she felt his weight leave the bed, and Jaden waited, ears searching for the sound of his departure.

It wasn't until two hours later that Jaden was reawaken by someone hammering on the door. Irritably she yelled, "What?" across the room, in the general direction of the doorway.

The door opened to admit Vanessa. "Rise and shine beauty queen, you gotta get ready."

Jaden flinched and burrowed under the blankets when Vanessa threw the light switch, illuminating the whole room. "Get ready for what?" Jaden groaned when the other woman pulled the covers off her head.

"Master Tsar wants to see you," Jaden was informed, "He wants to see how you are adjusting." The woman swept the room with her eyes, and added, "Though it looks as if you've had no problems."

Jaden avoided the Vampire's pointed glance, blushing as the woman looked over the table with the knocked over lamp and the way Jaden's clothes were scattered all over the floor. The room practically reeked of sex, and Jaden was feeling all too aware of her nakedness under her sheets. Awkwardly, she eased out of bed, holding a sheet around her torso. Still not meeting Vanessa's eye, Jaden slipped into the bathroom and proceeded to scrub her skin until there was no trace of James left on it. After, she pulled on a bathrobe and returned into the main chamber of the suite.

Vanessa was sitting on the edge of the bare mattress; a woman dressed as a maid was just taking out the sheets. Smirking knowingly, Vanessa said, "I noticed there was blood on your sheets. I thought it a good idea to fetch new ones." Then faking a look of concern, she commented, "there was quite a bit of blood upon the covers, I do hope you are alright."

Jaden bristled slightly and icily replied, "I'm perfectly fine."

Vanessa smirked and muttered something like, "I'll bet you are." Getting to her feet, she went to Jaden's wardrobe and began rifling through until she found something she liked. This something was a shirt of red satin, which was low cut enough that when Jaden put it on, one could almost see the curve of the bottom of her breasts; and pleated charcoal grey skirt that barely reached her knees. With this she wore a pair of black stiletto boots, which covered most of her shins.

After surveying herself in the mirror, Jaden could see that she looked really good, in a seductive kind of way. "Why am I dressed up like this?" She asked, turning away from her reflection, "I saw Tsar last week, and he didn't care about what I was wearing."

Vanessa pulled a pair of earrings from a case that was on the dresser and said absentmindedly, "these are way too tacky," before continuing, "Tsar has an important guest here who would very much like to meet you. We want you making a good impression."

"Who am I meeting?" Jaden asked, warily.

"A Pure Blood named Liam Neskab. He is Tsar's superior in blood and therefore controls all our fates, so don't be a bitch, 'cause our lives could depend on it. Whatever he asks of you, do it. You don't want to piss off a Pure Blood," Vanessa advised.

"What's so special about a Pure Blood?" she asked, unsure if at the Academy she'd ever learned anything about Pure Blood Vampires.

Rolling her eyes, Vanessa replied, "Pure Blood Vampires are born Vampires. Its like how you were born half a Vampire, well, they were born completely Turned. Half Bloods are the next best thing to a Pure Blood, but in no way can one attain the prestige of one who is pure."

"Alright then," Jaden said, with an unconvinced nod. The whole prospect seemed all very feudal to her, but hey, Vampires had been around for a long time, why wouldn't' they have a class system?

Just then there was a knock at the door, and Andrew slipped into the room. "Vanessa, James sent me to bring the two of you to see Tsar." Nodding, Vanessa took Andrew's arm and strode out the door, leaving Jaden to follow behind.

Jaden had never been in Tsar's office, at least not in this compound. It was a wide room with mahogany and leather dominating the furniture. There was a great bay window that overlooked the city, just behind the desk. Looking around, Jaden saw Tsar standing in a way that could only be described as hovering, off to the side.

Sitting behind the desk was the most handsome man and Vampire Jaden had ever laid eyes on. He had black-brown hair that was worn short and spiked and he had piercing green eyes that entrapped her the second they met. Beside her, James cleared his throat loudly, snapping Jaden out of her stupor. "This is my student. Jaden," James said stiffly.

The Vampire at the desk smirked and said, "its lovely to meet another of James' Turns."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn that James clenched his jaw and became rigid. A little confused, Jaden replied, "Thank you." James nudged her slightly, and she hastily added, "Sir." Liam nodded, his eyes never leaving her face.

"How long since her Turn?" he asked the room in general.

"She's been with us for less than two months now, milord," Tsar answered humbly.

"Tell me girl," Liam said, rising to his feet, "how old are you?"

Jaden bowed her head slightly and said, "Yesterday was my nineteenth birthday. Sir" She tried very hard to keep her cheeks from burning as a memory of James' birthday surprise flashed through her head. Thankfully, at that moment, Liam had looked away from her to Ashmore.

"Nineteen," he said, almost mockingly, almost congratulatory, "a noble and fine age." The Vampire smiled. But this wasn't a warm, kind smile; it was cold and mocking.

"Yes sir, it is," Ashmore agreed stiffly.

The Pure Blood's hungry eyes returned once more to Jaden, sweeping a glance over her entire frame. Tsar awkwardly cleared his throat, saying, "With your leave my lord, there is business I must attend to."

Still inspecting Jaden's curves closely, Liam nodded, then he abruptly looked up and told all in the room, "Wait outside. I wish to better acquaint myself with our newest member. I shall call you back in when you are needed." Glancing at Tsar he told him he was free to go.

* * *

_This is it_, James thought as he turned to leave the room. He couldn't bear to look at the girl; neither could Ashmore it seemed. Andrew was completely clueless, but Vanessa, as she brushed past the younger woman, placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Tsar paid no mind to anyone, he just swept down the hall, rounding a corner and passing out of sight. _Lucky fuck_, James thought as he watched his master's retreating back, _there's no way in hell that that bastard would allow me to leave_. 

The solid door of the office was sound proof if a human wanted to eavesdrop, but a Vampire's hearing is stronger by at least a hundred fold. The four Vampires in the hall could hear everything going on within the room.

"Are you thirsty my dear?" The Pure Blood asked. He chuckled and there was a sound of a liquid being poured. There was a pause, then the man urged, "drink, drink, my child. I have only just fed, and therefore could not manage another mouthful."

Jaden muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "for Vampires that sounds impossible." Thankfully for Jaden's sake, the Pure Blood thought it funny. Then, suddenly, there was a sound of breaking glass, and Jaden cried, "Oh! I'm so sorry sir!"

The man chuckled and replied to what would have probably been a panicked girl, "its nothing my dear. An accident; no more. Its obvious it slipped."

Unthinkingly, James raised a knuckle to his mouth and began to chew on it. _It won't be long now_, he thought, remembering past experiences.

"Here, you don't want to cut yourself," the man's voice drawled through the door. There were sounds of movement, then a gasp and a thud. "Are you alright, Jaden?" The Vampire's voice sounded neither concerned nor surprised.. "Here; let me help you."

There was a slight groan and then a sharp intake of breath. Then there was wordless babble; the kind of noise that a person makes when they have something over their mouth while they are attempting to speak.

"Sir?" Jaden wheezed, "What are you doing?" James closed his eyes, painful memories resurfacing as he heard the girl squeak in protest once more. There were then sounds of what could have been a scuffle, then there was a dull thud. The sound of ripping cloth proceeded the call of , "Get off me!" from Jaden, as she obviously was struggling under the weight of someone heavier. A male roar of pain penetrated the door, then the sound of someone shuffling along the floor before there was a cry, which escalated to a scream. This scream was obviously feminine. It was a wail of agony, which faded away into gasping, ragged breath. "Please sir," a pathetic female voice whisper, "don't!"

A very male, and very familiar chuckled emitted softly from the room, and James felt his blood turn cold with his fury. Looking around, trying to focus on something more than what he heard and pictured, he began watching those around him. Andrew was propped against the wall, looking untroubled and bored. _That's because he's done this himself_, James reflected coldly, _fucking drug lords_. Ashmore was slumped against the wall, staring dejectedly at the door. Vanessa was sitting on the floor, knees drawn up to her chest, resting her chin on them as she watched the door unblinkingly.

A moan escaped from the room, one of sorrow and misery. "Noooooo!" It was answered by a chuckled, then followed with a grunt and a scream.

* * *

The whole escapade went on for a fairly long time. The only sounds coming from the room were feral male groans and female whimpers and sobs of pain. James spent the whole time pacing outside the door, every noise bringing back vivid and horrible memories. It was all he could do to restrain himself from bursting into the room and ripping one of the Pure Blood's appendages off. 

After the room had been quiet for a while, a voice called, "You may all come in again," from within.

When he walked in, James couldn't see his student. "Where is Jaden?" James asked, trying and succeeding remarkably well at keeping the fury and hostility out of his voice.

"Right here," Liam replied, pushing his chair to the right of the desk, gesturing to the floor.

James moved around the edge of the desk and saw his student curled up in the fetal position, eyes wide, staring at nothing. Her face was blank, but tear stains made it blotchy. Looking at Liam, James remarked stiffly, "she seems not to be well." Liam smirked, "Might I take her back to her rooms, where she may recuperate?" he continued with the same dead voice.

Sneering, the Pure Blood nodded. Vanessa also moved around the desk, pulling off her long overcoat. Together, she and James pulled the unresponsive girl to her feet, and James shielded her body from Liam with his back, as Vanessa covered her with the trench coat. James supported Jaden on one side, as Vanessa did on the other. Jaden half stumbled and was half dragged towards the door.

"Oh Vanessa," the Pure Blood called, as she was about to leave. "Please stay behind."

Vanessa gave James a glum look before turning back into the room. Half way down the hall, he heard a thump and a gasp and he had no doubt why Liam had wanted Vanessa to remain behind.

Awkwardly and very slowly, he, Ashmore and Andrew managed to get Jaden back to her rooms. They lay her on the bed, covered her with the blankets up to her chin, turned out the lights, and left her in a mostly catatonic state.


	27. Sorry?

**_Sorry it took so long for an update...i got busy with school...this is the scene warned about in the previous chapter...its not too vivid...but i figure its probably good to warn others of_**

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_Jaden frowned when Vanessa had put her arm on her shoulder. Vanessa was a woman who was far from sentimental, and yet she made an almost comforting gesture. After the door had closed, Liam asked, "Are you thirsty, my dear?" Jaden nodded, trying to look nonchalant, but obviously she'd failed, because the Vampire chuckled as he poured blood from a decanter into a crystal glass. He handed it to her, and when she didn't immediately drink, waiting for him to pour himself a glass, he urged her, "drink, drink, my child." He smiled and added, "I have only just fed, and therefore could not manage another mouthful." _

_Jaden muttered, "for Vampires that sounds impossible," as she thought back to the way she'd seen her fellow Nichelle Vampires drink. It was then that she realized she's said it out loud, and that the Pure Blood had heard her. Thankfully, he took no offence and laughed good-naturedly. Meekly, she drained the glass. When she stood up to hand the glass back, a wash of dizziness swept over her and the cup slipped from her suddenly numb hands. It shattered upon the floor. "Oh!" she cried, "I'm so sorry sir!"_

_Liam smiled and laughed a little saying, "its nothing my dear. An accident; no more. Its obvious it slipped." He reached out a hand to help her step over the patch of glass, "Here, you don't want to cut yourself." Jaden took the hand and he helped support her as she moved away from the glass all over the floor, but when her foot made contact with the floor, her legs just gave out. She fell to the ground with a crash. Are you alright, Jaden?" The man asked, sounding almost casual. He extended his hand again, "Here; let me help you."_

_Jaden groaned slightly as he pulled her to her feet but had to gasp when she found his lips pressed hard against her own. His hand looped around the small of her back, pressing her to him. She tried to protest but the man forcing his tongue into her mouth blocked her words. He broke away from her mouth and began kissing her neck "Sir?" she gasped, "What are you doing?" When he began fondling her chest and slipping his hand up her shirt, she knew he'd gone to far. She tried pushing him away, and succeeded for half a second, before her legs gave out. She fell to the ground once more, this time with the man on top of her. _

_Sometime in their struggle, he'd ripped apart her shirt and of course she didn't wear a bra underneath. Still struggling to get away, Jaden cried, "Get off me!" She lashed out with her nails and left four deep slashes across Liam's face._

_He bellowed in pain and rolled away. In that single instant, Jaden slid from beneath him and began crawling on all fours to the door. But she was too slow. The man grabbed her by her hair and hauled Jaden to her feet. That was enough to make her cry out, but she wailed in agony when his teeth pierced the skin of her throat. He sucked at it hard, until Jaden near passed out, before he eased her to the ground and began fumbling with their clothes. _

_He stripped her of her underwear and pushed her skirt up to her waist. Leering at her, he stood and began pulling at his belt. "Sir," Jaden pleaded, knowing just how pathetic she must have sounded, but her energy was robbed of her and she could barely keep conscious, "don't." The handsome man laughed as he positioned himself. "Noooooo1!" Jaden moaned. The brute laughed again at her, looked her strait in the eye, before he thrust himself into her with a grunt. _

_Jaden screamed as layers of delicate skin ripped and bled. Newfound strength appeared and she tried pushing him away. But Liam just grabbed her wrist and bit deeply into it. The pain made her want to die, but her sick mind began contemplating what he'd do to her corpse. So she passed in and out of conscious though, the only constant thing was the agony building with each thrust. _

_By the time he'd finished with her, hot tears were streaming down her face, but Jaden had fallen quiet. Drawn deep within her mind; within the pain, she waited for an end. Any end._

Jaden burst from her slumber and lurched from the bed, retching loudly into the bathroom sink. Unfortunately, she had nothing in her stomach, so all she did was dry heave painfully. With a groan of misery, she slumped to the floor and curled into a wretched heap. This was how she'd been awoken for the past three weeks. Terrible recollection of her meeting with Liam Neskab visited her as her subconscious took control of her sleeping mind.

It was in this condition that she was found, some time later. She was nearly unconscious, so she barely recognized who it was kneeling next to her. "Jaden," James murmured, stroking her cheek lightly, "Are you alright?"

Jaden's eyes opened only to glare at her elder. Roughly she jerked out of his comforting hold and rose to her feet. Or rather tried to rise. She was half way to being upright when a terrible pain shot through her stomach and a second wave of nausea swept over her. To her great shame, it was into her teacher's arms that she crumpled. "What's wrong with me?" she croaked, her voice raw and raspy from disuse and the effort of vomiting.

James carefully pulled her upright and mumbled that he had no clue. "I am sorry Jaden," he added, not meeting her eye. "I am sorry that you were put through such an ordeal."

"Sorry?" Jaden snarled, pulling out of his hold once more. "You knew that you were taking me to be raped and you told me nothing?" she shrieked, shoving him with a newfound strength. All the anger and she'd built up over the past three weeks bubbled to the surface with a tidal wave's force. Still James did not meet her eyes. She lashed out again, catching him on the jaw with her fist, sending him sprawling. Standing over him, she kicked him, sinking her foot into his ribs. It hurt because she was barefoot, but the satisfaction of hearing James grunt in pain was enough compensation.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she roared, seizing James by the front of his shirt, hauling him up to her eye level.

James closed his eyes, as if in pain, and then softly said, "Had I warned you, your fate would have been the same as Annabelle."

Narrowing her eyes, Jaden hissed, "Who the fuck is Annabelle?" She was an inch away from his face, fangs bared, rage bubbling from every pore.

James opened his eyes, and with an expression of agony, he whispered, "My wife."


	28. James' Explination for Liam's Initiation

**_Hola...don't worry, i'll try to get the next chapter up soon...sorry it took so long_**

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James' look of pain and proclamation of his marriage surprised Jaden into dropping him. "Your wife?" she repeated, dumbfounded. From the floor, he nodded, and laboriously climbed to his feet.

He looked at a spot on the floor to the left of Jaden's feet, before saying, "When I was Turned, I was a very different person than I am now." He looked up and continued, "I had been married to the woman I loved for two years before I was taken in by the Nichelle. I was miserable without her. Anyone could see that.

"It was not until six months after I was Turned that I begged my Master, Tsar, to allow her to be Turned as well." He smiled bitterly, "Tsar thought it was amusing, and he let me change her myself."

He looked up with tears in his eyes, bitter-sweetly continuing, "For the next eight weeks, Annabelle and I were in utter bliss. We were inseparable, and because I had Turned her, but had not finished my training, everything I learned, we learned together. Then Liam came to town."

James looked away, grief and anger filling his features. His eyes were filled with pain as he told his student, "From somewhere Neskab learned that Annabelle and I were married. That made it all that much of a sport to him when he forced himself upon my wife."

By this point Jaden had given up on attacking James and had backed away, sitting on the bed. "What do you mean? Sport?" she asked in a whisper, almost afraid to know.

For a moment he just stared at her, and Jaden began to wonder if he'd actually tell her, when he replied, "he made me watch."

"He made you watch?" Jaden repeated incredulously. "Why in god's name did you not stop him?"

James laughed once bitterly, "You believe I didn't try?" he asked, his tone as incredulous as hers. "I attempted to kill him. Obviously it annoyed him." James turned away, squeezing his eyes shut as if to block out the memory. His back still turned to her he continued, "For every mark I laid upon him, every bite, scratch or contact of skin; -- he laid upon my wife. In the end, to spite me, he bit her in the neck so hard, and drank for so long that she lost all consciousness. Then I fled with her to our chambers, where I tried to nurse her back to health."

Turning back to face Jaden he informed her, "the bite of a Pure Blood, I learned that evening, does not heal as the bite of an average Vampire's does. It appears that a Pure Blood has a venom he or she can choose to use when they want to seriously injure their opponent. Annabelle's wounds would not close. She never regained consciousness. The last time I ever heard my wife's voice was when she was screaming." As if the telling of this exhausted him, he slumped down to sit beside Jaden.

The room was silent for a long moment. Jaden then ventured to say, "But if Annabelle had been warned --"

"I warned Vanessa," James snarled, cutting Jaden off, rising to his feet. "I told her what fate waited for her when she was taken to meet Liam. She fought. She lost." Gripping Jaden's chin to be sure she listened, he said, "Vanessa was not able to stand for two weeks, and she was delirious for six days." Squeezing her chin all the harder he added, "she almost didn't make it."

Jaden sat open mouth for a moment, staring up into James' eyes. James murmured, "Since before my Turn, every high blooded female ever Turned was hurt by Liam. He refers to it as their initiation into our League."

"Why does no one else stop him?" Jaden whispered, horrified.

He gave her a weary and crooked smile as he told her, "There are less than a thousand Pure Bloods alive. There are four billion Vampires. They are such a rarity that they are like gods as we are like flies. Being Half Blood makes us birds, but we are still completely inferior." He shook his head, "the only way to stop a Pure Blood, is to have another do it for you. Trust me, when I tried to avenge my wife's death, I got my throat ripped out by my own Master, because he'd rather I die, than harm one of Liam's birth." He looked at her sadly, "I'm so sorry Jaden, but there was nothing any of us _could_ do."

"No," Jaden snarled, jumping to her feet and she began pacing the room. "This is wrong! He shouldn't be able to do that! Someone should stop it!" she whirled to face James, rage burning in her eyes.

He put his hands on her shoulders, and forced her to look into his eyes, a hard expression on his face, "you must_ never_ make a move against him," he ordered, shaking her to get his point across. "He will kill you, even if you are a Half Blood. Only a more powerful Pure Blood can stop him. And every god that there ever was knows that none of them care. They'll care more about the loss of a Half Blood than a rape, if they even give the smallest amount of a shit."

They stood that way for a few moments, breaking apart suddenly when the door opened after a soft knock. Suddenly Jaden hissed and fell to the floor as Blood Lust slammed through her. Barely contained, her head felt ready to burst and her stomach felt as if something was trying to rip its way out. She gasped to the confused Faithful, "get out or die!"

The man chose to live, obviously because he quickly backed out of the room, firmly shutting the door behind him. "Jaden? What's wrong?'' James asked, kneeling down at her side.

_What the fuck do you think it is?_ Jaden thought, knowing that she was completely unable to complete intelligent responses, let alone insulting ones. She screamed and clutched at her belly as her body shuddered and twitched. Even the presence of James did not help, when he presented his wrist to her, she was too weak and agonized to draw her fangs and sink in. With another wail of agony, she rolled out of James' hold and curled up into as tight a ball as she could. Wrapping both arms around her gut, she pulled both her knees up to her chest and just held herself that way, as if to squeeze the pain from her abdomen.

It hurt so much she wanted to die. The pain she remembered from her Turn felt like lover's caresses as wave after wave of brutal agony ripped her apart. Liam's touch felt orgasmic next to this.

James stood over Jaden and, for the first time in many centuries, had no clue what to do. His student writhed on the floor, wailing at if her intestines were being boiled inside her. Her nails had cut into herself and him as she flailed about, and the bleeding welts had only just started to fade. _Why is this happening_? He wondered franticly, _her Blood Lust has been under control for weeks_. _What is causing this_? He wracked his brain for any sort of knowledge. But he drew up blank.

Staring down on her in a small state of panic, James considered what to do. But before he came to a conclusion, she went limp and became motionless. Quickly kneeling down beside her, he realized that she'd succumbed to the pain, and her body forced itself to shut down in order to gain a reprieve.


	29. Blood Rage

**_Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up...i dunno when the next one will be...sorry...JG

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_**Cradling Jaden in his arms, James glanced up ready to fight when the door burst open. It was Maddox, dragging who appeared to be the resident physician behind him. The man was pale and looked ready to faint as the immense Vampire towed him into the room. A huge look of relief spread over the doctor's face when he saw Jaden was unconscious. Immediately the man ordered that Jaden be moved to the bed. 

Carefully, James lifted her and gently set her upon the bed. Only then did the doctor approach her. Pulling out a small flashlight, he inquired, "How long ago did she last feed?" He lifted her eyelid and shone the light into her eyes.

"Live or bottled?" James asked.

The doctor's eyes flicked to James quickly before settling back on his patient. "Either," was his reply.

James sighed while he thought. "It's been less than twenty-four hours since she drank blood. But I couldn't say when the last time she drank while the body was still kicking. Maddox?" He turned to the other man.

He shrugged, uncaringly, "not a clue." With another shrug, he added, "its not like we spend time together often."

Chuckling softly, the doctor commented, "You two don't exactly seem like the type to have pajama parties. Sorry Maddox, but I don't believe you would do so well in the whole boy-talking, nail-painting, pillow-fighting scene."

Maddox looked dead serious when he replied, "well obviously you don't know me as well as you think. Because I love pillow-fights." The doctor turned to stare in shock at the large Vampire. There was an instance in which their eyes held, and then they both burst into laughter.

"Enough," James snapped. He glared at Maddox before addressing the doctor, "Her Blood Lust has been in check for weeks, and now she loses control? Why?"

The doctor shrugged, "She's young. You know how usual it is for a Newborn to snap. She probably just was worn-out and therefore lost a bit of her sanity."

James shook his head, "no, this was different. I've never seen her this way before."

With a twist of his mouth the doctor, once again, shrugged and leaned over Jaden to listen to her chest as he muttered, "whatever you say sir." He glanced up at her face then scrambled back with a cry of alarm.

Jaden's eyes were open. But they were not their normal chocolate brown. The irises had disappeared, as well as the pupils. All there was in the place of her eyes were orbs of crimson. Pupil-less and watching. Stiffly and robotically, she sat up. Turning to look at the retreating doctor, she cocked her head to the side, her face blank and zombie like.

When she'd gotten to her feet, James put himself between her and the doctor. A shadow crossed Jaden's face, and a demonic, evil expression formed over her features. Placing her arm on James' shoulder, she pushed lightly. Lightly meaning she put little effort into it, for it was hardly a light push. James was thrown across the room, slamming into the wall, crumbling into a heap on the ground. The doctor ran as Maddox stepped into her path.

Staring unblinkingly at Maddox, Jaden asked in a hoarse voice, "Where is Liam?"

Shaking his head, already guessing what her intentions were, he said, almost apologetically, "I can't let you harm him Korr."

Her lips curled back, revealing her fangs as she snarled murderously. She attempted to walk around the hulking Vampire, but her caught her arm, holding it loosely. Reaching down, her eyes focusing on his, she wrapped her free hand around his and squeezed. Maddox released her howling. Jaden had crushed most of the bones in his hand.

Before she realized she'd opened her bedroom door, Jaden was standing in front of another one. She didn't know how, but she was certain that this was Liam's room. Jaden didn't even bother opening the door, she just crashed through it.

There he was, standing with his back to her, fucking some girl who was perched upon the dresser. Putting a hand on his shoulder, Jaden jerked him backwards off his feet. The girl screamed at Jaden's sudden appearance. Jaden shot her a look and snarled, "Leave. Now." Wide eyed, the girl grabbed the bits of her clothing and scurried from the room.

Jaden then turned back to face Liam, still lying on the floor. When he saw her face, he didn't take into consideration her eyes nor her teeth, just her looks. Recognizing her, he burst out laughing. "Back for more are we?" he chuckled, "you like it rough, don't you?" He got to his feet and gave her a seductive look; he reached out his hand to tuck around her waist.

With a vicious snarl, Jaden seized the limb and flipped him onto his back again. "You won't ever touch me again," she yelled, her voice cracking in her fury.

His grin would have been sexy and sultry on anyone else's face, as he said, "Wanna bet?" Advancing too quickly for Jaden's eyes to pick up, he slammed her against the wall, pressing himself up against her so she couldn't move. Jaden was furious. With a cry of rage, she lashed out with her nails, making a deep gash across his face. Three deep cuts ran across his features, one traveling across his nose and another barely missing his eye. Roaring with pain he backed away.

Jaden used this retreat to bury her fist into his stomach. When he doubled over gasping, her fist connected with his jaw. As he fell, she kicked up deliberately, in a way so that his descending face and her face would become well acquainted with each other. His head slammed into the floor, as Jaden kicked him in the ribs. She struck him three times before he seized her foot and jerked her leg out from under her. With a shriek, she tumbled down on top of him. Repulsed, she struggled to regain her feet, but Liam kidney punched her, and shoved her off him.

Seizing her by the throat, he dragged Jaden to her feet, snarling, "Bitch," when she cut his arm. She struggled, but his grip was like a vice. She couldn't break free. Despite her squirming, blows and snarls of profanity, Liam sneered and hissed, "I'm going to make you wish your great-grandparents were never born." He threw her to the floor so hard that Jaden cracked a tooth. As she lay there dazed, Liam stepped on her hand, breaking her fingers. She shrieked with rage, but all he did was grin. He gripped her neck again and hauled her up to his eye level. His demonic sneer widened as he dug his nails into the soft flesh there. Jaden tried screaming, but he'd sliced her vocal cords, so all that escaped her mouth was a strangled gurgle. She was losing blood fast. But, instead of giving up, Jaden fought back harder.

Her knee dug into his groin and he folded with a gasp, relinquishing his grip on her. Kneeling with her knee in his gut, she bent her head and bit into his neck. Roaring in rage, Liam tried fighting her off, but she was drinking too fast; his strength was fading quicker than he could handle. It would be a matter of seconds more until he lost consciousness. Then, the girl was pulled off him violently by some unknown force. She shrieked in her rage as she was hauled kicking and screaming away from her prey. Obviously her wounds had healed as she drunk Liam's blood

"Sir," a breathless voice asked, "are you alright?"

"Where is the bitch?" Liam snarled, lurching to his feet, with every intent of causing bodily harm. He saw James' big brute of a companion pressed up against the wall struggling with something evidently smaller than him. Liam grinned savagely and pulled the larger vampire back with the same motion as he grabbed the girl's throat once more. For the first time he truly looked at her, and he instantly released her, staggering back a few steps. "Oh shit. No!" he breathed as he backed away. _What have I done?_ was the first thing flashing through his head, followed by _who the hell is this bitch?_

The girl took advantage of his moment of weakness to lunge at him once more. The large vampire tackled her, crushing her under his weight, immobilizing her for the moment. Liam rounded on James, who'd just jogged through the door, shouting in a quaking voice, "Why didn't you tell me she wasn't a Half Blood?"

James stared at him as if he'd begun speaking in tongues. "What?" he asked, confused. "She _is_ a Half Blood."

"Then why the _fuck_ does she have Blood Rage?" Liam roared.

"Blood Rage?" James repeated stupidly. He stared at Liam in shock. Then he shook his head, "No. Only Pure Bloods have Blood Rage."

Rolling his eyes at the younger man's ignorance, he gripped him the by the chin and jerked him down to Jaden's level on the floor. James was but an inch from Jaden's snapping jaw and wide, pupil-less eyes. When he comprehended what he was seeing he pulled away from Liam with a violent tug. Wheezing, "holy shit!"

"So we're in agreement that she's a Pure Blood?" Liam snarled. From the floor, James mutely nodded. Still watching the struggling girl on the ground, Liam added quietly "all we need to know now is who she really is." His and James' gaze met,"And who her parents are." For a moment, James didn't understand the look in the other man's eyes. Then he realized it was fear.


	30. Jaden's Identity

_**I'm sorry it took so long to update...i dunno when i'll get to do it next...school is annoying and stupid and its taking up way too much time...grr...so...this may be the last update for a few weeks...sorry...JG

* * *

**_James and Liam stared at each other in shock until Maddox's cry of pain jerked their attention back to Jaden. She'd managed to grab his wrist and had sunk her teeth deeply into it. He was unable to break free, at least, not without ripping half his wrist off.

"Oh this is ridiculous!" Liam snapped. He strode over to the door and yelled "Jones!" into the hall. A very tall Vampire entered the room, saw Jaden, drew a pistol and shot her. For an instant, it seemed as if Jaden didn't notice her wound, but after about ten seconds she gasped, releasing Maddox's arm.

The instant he was free, Maddox rolled to his feet, ready for the next attack. Jaden, it seemed, wasn't interested in attacking anymore. She was writhing on the floor. Then, as suddenly as the convulsions began, she was still.

"What did you do to her?" James snarled, glaring at Liam, "if you've hurt her, the Pure Bloods will –"

"I had her tranquilized so she wouldn't end up killing us," Liam interrupted him rolling his eyes. "Besides, the Pure Bloods would do nothing to me," he said this almost to himself.

James snorted, "You don't know that."

"What are you talking about?" Liam retorted, but he looked nervous, despite his appearance of anger.

James gave him a look that was to be read as, _are you serious_, before replying, "We don't even know who she is; and you fucking raped her, Neskab. Christ, she could be related to you, you fucker," he snarled. Seeing Liam's look of horror, James smirked, "you are in some seriously deep fucking shit Neskab. When she meets her parents, she'll tell all about your _initiation practices_, and you'll be exposed for the bastard that you are." Grinning savagely, James added, "If she outrank you, it may be you'll be executed by the girl herself." Liam stared at him with a mixture of fury and anxiety.

Sinking into a chair, staring at the girl, Liam murmured, "She can't be of high blood. Elaina was the last to be born, but she'd dead." He shook his head, "No one else." Jumping to his feet, he cried, "who the fuck is she?" Storming from the room, he slammed the door behind him.

James hurried to Jaden's side. She was unconscious, but other than that seemed fine. He pulled open one of her eyelids and saw that the iris and pupil were still absent. Gathering her in his arms, he heaved her off the floor. Carrying her, he walked to his room, informing any human he saw that it would be death to approach within a hundred yards of his rooms. By the time he reached his doorway, he sensed that all humans had vacated the floor and several rooms above and below his. Gently, he set Jaden on the bed and tied her wrists and ankles to the bedposts; if not to stop her, then to slow her down momentarily.

After securing her, he slipped out of the room, locking the door behind him. He strode into his office and picked up the phone. It was answered on the second ring. "_Bonsoir. Que puis-je faire pour vous, James_?"

"It is good to hear you, sister. I need a favor." James was hardly surprised she knew it was him calling.

He could almost hear the woman on the other line smiling, "What is it, dear brother?"

"I need help identifying and containing one of your standing," he answered. It was an unspoken rule that Pure Bloods were not to be mentioned unless necessary, and especially not over the phone. "I believe you may like to meet her," he added, "she is quite a charming young woman."

He heard his sister chuckling. Something in his tone must have suggested he was being a little sarcastic when he called Jaden charming. "I'll be in the city by noon. I'll go to the compound on the eastern outskirts of the city. Send someone to pick me up at that location at three in the afternoon." Then she hung up.

Grimly, James placed the phone back on the cradle. The last visit with his sister he'd had, had hardly ended well. He hoped this one had better results.

When Jaden awoke she found herself lying spread-eagle on the bed. After a half-second assessment, she realized the bed was not her own, and she was being restrained. Another second of evaluation told her she was not alone. She was so thirsty it hurt. Weakly, she struggled against her restraints, snarling with fury when the woman at her bedside sneered.

Shaking her head and still smiling, the woman plunged a needle into Jaden's arm. Stiffening for an instant, Jaden fell back into unconsciousness.

The woman got to her feet, chuckling softly, "You were right, brother. I did want to meet her." She glanced over at James, who was standing in the corner by the door.

"You know her identity?" James asked, nodding in the unconscious girl's direction.

"Yes," was all she replied. As she swept past James she paused, adding, "Satine and Zachariah."

James stared, then swallowed, "Are you certain?"

The woman shrugged, "If not Zachariah, then Jordan."

"How can you tell?" James asked, feeling especially uneasy.

"She's the spitting image of Satine." With a glance back to the girl, she added, "Except she has her father's coloring."

"What do I do?" James whispered. He tried very hard, and was succeeding, at keeping from trembling. But his concern reached his voice.

His sister smiled, "keep all humans from this building. Don't even let anyone bring a bottle of blood in. She'll be able to smell it from a kilometer away, and the tranquilizer will not hold for much longer, so long as she's still under the influence of Blood Rage. Which she is." Pushing her brother lightly, she closed the door behind her, and locked it. Reaching up, she gripped James' chin and held his eyes, her smile gone. "Let no one enter that bedroom. If they do, they will not leave it walking."

"What are we going to do?" James asked, his usually whirring mind stopped.

His sister's smile returned, and she replied in a light voice, "I am going to contact Zachariah, and have him brought to the girl. There is no way we can move her. Not without anyone dying." Looking around the room, she asked, "Where is your phone?" Nodding, James pointed it out to her.

He watched as his sister swept over to the desk and dropped into the chair as she lifted the receiver. "_Recevez-moi Zachariah. C'est Nikita_." There was a pause. "_Bonjour_,_ vieil ami_," she said warmly. "There is urgent need for you to take a trip to Venisa." A pause followed, then she replied, "I believe I've found your daughter. Would you be so kind as to stop her from killing us all as she wallows in Blood Rage." She chuckled, and then frowned, snapping, "That is not acceptable. She could reveal _us_ if this is left unattended." James had a good idea that Nikita meant the Pure Bloods when she said 'us.' Shaking her head, she snarled, "you know that is not possible. _If _you are the father, or you son is, then either way _you _can end this bout of Rage. If you send Jordan, and it turns out he's not the father, she'll rip him apart, and you'll lose your heir." There was a brief pause, so short that James guessed she cut off Zachariah, "Even if it is the case that you are her _grandfather_, you are the best chance at stopping the Rage." She fell silent for a time, and her scowl and hard look faded, softening her features. "I'm glad you are seeing sense," she mused. "There will be someone to pick you up at midnight." Nodding she added, "I'll see you later," A pause, "Yes, I know. Goodbye." As she hung up, Nikita glanced up at James, who'd been standing, forgotten in the doorway. "You should tell Alexander that Zachariah will be here soon. He requires transportation."

James nodded robotically, "Right. I'll tell him." As he turned to leave, Nikita called to him.

"You and anyone else whose blood she has consumed must stay away at all costs until Zachariah arrives." At his quizzical look, his sister explained, "she has tasted it before. She remembers the taste. We may not be able to stop her, should she decide she's taken a liking to it."

Nodding, James left to search out Tsar. He found the man sitting behind his desk, wearily listening to Liam Neskab rant about Jaden's attack on him. Liam had gone on for several minutes before realizing Tsar was not his only audience member. "What do you want?" he snarled, whirling to face James.

James sneered, "Many things." Then, ignoring the Pure Blood completely, he informed Tsar, "Lord Zachariah will be here at midnight. He's going to stop Jaden's Blood Rage."

"But only one of the girl's parents or grandparents can do that," Liam blurted out stupidly.

Still ignoring Liam, James added, "Nikita, who arrived a few hours ago has met with the girl. She had determined that Zachariah, or Jordan, and Satine are the girl's parents."

Tsar nodded, pale and worried. "What else did she say?"

"She informed us to keep away from her if she'd drunk our blood." Tsar nodded again, his mouth twisting wryly. "Also, we must have all humans out of the building. And all feeding and bottled blood must also be removed from the premises."

Tsar frowned, "does she realize what she is asking?" Removing so many humans was difficult alone, but tracking down every bottle of blood would take time. Maybe too much time.

"Of course I do," Nikita said sharply, striding into the room. "But if you wish to not have a massacre, then you had better do as I say. And do so quickly." With a slightly softer look, she added, "if you can at least clear the area immediately around her, then it would help." Looking around the room, she added, "As James already explained, you three must stay away from her until her Rage is under control. Understood?" Her brother and Tsar met her gaze evenly, but Liam avoided her stare. Her eyes narrowed and she strode towards the younger Pure Blood, snarling, "You." He flinched. "I could smell you all over her, you disgusting whelp." He shifted uncomfortably, still not meeting her eye. "Get out of my sight before I have you castrated!" she snapped, shoving him hard in the direction of the door.

James grinned as Liam fled. It was nice to see someone hold power over someone who'd held such terrible power over him. He quickly composed himself when Nikita began talking of preparations that Tsar needed to order before Zachariah arrived. Tsar quickly set Ashmore to the task of clearing humans and blood away from Jaden. Maddox was added to the effort so that he was far from Jaden, who'd tasted his blood more than once. After a few hours of work, Tsar ordered James to accompany Nikita in bringing Zachariah to their compound.

As James walked with his half sister to the parking level, Nikita said quietly, "It wasn't only Liam who I could smell on Jaden." James tensed. He'd hoped that Liam would cover his own scent on Jaden's body, but it seemed, being Half Blood, it wasn't the case. Seeing his reaction, Nikita asked sternly, "was she willing?"

James looked down at the shorter Vampire. He bit his lip lightly as he thought before carefully saying, "If she'd been warned before hand, no. But, it was a," he paused, trying to think of the right word, "_lesson_ that got a little out of hand."

"You took advantage of her," Nikita hissed.

"No," James said, shaking his head. "I didn't hurt her, and it was a demonstration of the, uh," he paused, awkwardly, wondering how to phrase the sexual reference.

Nikita cut him off before he could think of the answer, snapping, "you'd better think of a good excuse before Zachariah gets to her. Because if the girl didn't want it, then you are in some deep shit, James."

"I know that!" James snapped, rolling his eyes. "But I fucked her when I thought she was Ben Ashmore's kid, and my main motive was to piss both of them off. Besides, if she was with the Pure Bloods openly, then there was no way I'd get even close to her alone in the same room."

His sister's mouth twisted wryly, before she said, "That's not a very strong defense, but it does work. Mentors often sleep with students, especially if it's a rival's kid. But you're on a slippery slope, boy." She poked him in the chest to get her point across.

"I know, I know." James said, grabbing her wrist lightly before she could poke him again. They'd reached the parking garage, and there was an entourage of eight vehicles waiting for them. James and Nikita got into separate cars, and the group headed out of the garage, no car following the same path of the one ahead of it.

In the end, only four of the cars arrived at the pickup point. The others were scattered across the city, ready to cause mischief should the Organization get too close to the VIPs. There was a chilly breeze that whipped at James' clothes as he got out of the vehicle. It tousled his hair and swept grit into his eyes as he squinted to the sky. With a whoosh, a large aircraft dove out of the clouds and landed almost silently on the cement landing-platform. A humming noise announced a ramp lowering, and several Vampire bodyguards slipped into sight, weapons drawn, ready for trouble. One of them said, "All clear milord," to an unseen person. James drew a deep breath, and made ready to greet Zachariah Nichelle as he descended the gangplank.

* * *

**_What is probably some pretty bad french...but if it is terrible, i blame the transtlator website..._**

_Bonsoir. Que puis-je faire pour vous, James_? - Good evening. What can I do for you, James?

_Recevez-moi Zachariah. C'est Nikita_. - Get me Zachariah. This is Nikita.

_Bonjour_,_ vieil ami - _Hello, old friend

**_oh ya...Venisa is my own little made up city, if there actually is one, i am sorry, i didn't know...haha_**


	31. The Third Child

Jaden woke and instantly overwhelmed by Blood Lust. She lost all conscious though except that she needed blood. She tried to sit up but discovered that she was still restrained. Snarling in annoyance, she jerked one of her wrists violently. The thick rope holding her arm snapped. With one arm free, she was able to break the other wrist out, along with severing the bedpost to which she was attached. The same treatment was given to the bindings around her ankles. The whole process took less than a minute.

The blood crazy girl was half way to the door when she heard a man chuckle behind her. Whirling around with a hiss, her eyes settled on a tall, lean, well-muscled Vampire with dark brown hair and eyes so black the pupils were indistinguishable. He grinned and said something her Blood Lust insane brain didn't process. All she realized was she was moving towards him with deadly intent, and she didn't care how badly he got hurt.

Resistance wasn't something she expected though, and her brain didn't even conceive how and where he'd hit her, but suddenly, she was flying across the room, only to collide with the opposite wall.

James jumped when he heard a loud crash on the other side of his bedroom door. _It seems she is awake_ he mused, hoping she and Zachariah didn't rip apart his room in the process. Within, there was a loud, feral, snarl and a scuffling sound. It seemed that the former Agent was unhappy with the room's other occupant, and now sought to rid herself of his company. By the sound of her screams, grunts and snarls, she was not making very good ground. _Then again_, James pondered, _I didn't do so well against Liam, and he's a weak Pure Blood. Fighting Zachariah must be pretty disheartening_. A bang, which included a loud scraping sound, announced to James that a piece of his furniture was probably laying in ruins now.

A strangled gasp within the room declared somebody to be winning the fight, and James could easily guess who the victor was. An instant later, a feminine squeal of pain confirmed James' thoughts. For several moments, there was silence in the room, broken when the man within said, "You can come in now. But do be careful," there was a touch of amusement in his voice, "she may still be a little irritable."

James smirked and indicated Maddox move the large bookcase that blocked the door out of the way. It wouldn't have done much to stop the girl had she chosen to get out of the room, only momentarily slow her down. Once inside the room, James surveyed the damage with a grimace. His bedposts had been snapped off, a dresser and a table lay in splinters, there was a large dent in the wall, and the carpet was surely ruined by a large bloodstain pooling around his student. The girl lay on the floor in a daze, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

James was relieved to see that her eyes were no longer crimson orbs, which didn't give away where she was looking. Instead, they resembled Zachariah's eyes; black, so dark that the pupil was indistinctive from the iris. The eyes of a Pure Blood.

Behind him, a Vampire from Zachariah's entourage dragged a struggling human into the room. Instantly, the girl snapped out of her stupor and watched the mortal unblinkingly. Her eyes flashed to Zachariah, as she slowly got to her feet. He raised an eyebrow, and gave the smallest of nods. Some unspoken question seemed to be answered in the look, because the girl moved towards the squealing human.

James watched his student's face as she moved past him. Usually, he could tell every single emotion burning through her, but now, he was unable to read her cold, hard expression. With a look that could closest be described as contempt, the girl took hold of the smaller human's chin and pulled her eyes up to her own gaze. The young Pure Blood smiled as the human began to sob, and turned its face gently to the side, delicately sinking her teeth into the doomed girl's throat.

Only for a moment did she feed, and the human was still alive and conscious when the Pure Blood drew away. Turning, she stepped away from the sobbing girl, bowing her head slightly to Zachariah, as he moved to finish her off. She stared at the older Vampire as he drank quickly, no longer prolonging the human's suffering.

As the body hit the floor, James' student moaned, clutched at her head, and sunk to her knees. "What's happened?" she asked, in a trembling voice. "Where am I?" Kneeling at her side, James saw her eyes were no longer fathomless black, but their usual liquid chocolate brown. Eyes wide, she turned to stare at him, "It hurt so bad. What happened? Why?"

For a moment James blankly stared at her, unknowing of what she was talking about. Then he remembered the events of the night before. It felt like much longer ago. "Jaden," he said, feeling strange to call her by a name he knew wasn't hers, "there is something I have to explain." When she stared at him in confusion, he asked gently, "Do you remember anything that just happened."

She looked as if she were thinking hard and asked guiltily, "That man, did I hurt him?"

"What man?" James asked, also confused.

"The Faithful," she answered adamantly. "I thought I went after him. I told him to get out before it got too bad, but then I just lost it."

James smiled reassuringly, "No, he's fine. He got out like you told him." Nodding, Jaden got to her feet. "Jaden, what you experienced is a symptom called Blood Rage."

Frowning, she asked, "What's Blood Rage. Why have I never heard it mentioned before? Why didn't you tell me it would happen to me?" She now looked annoyed.

James sighed, taking a deep breath, "because it only occurs in Pure Bloods; and we thought you were a Half Blood. Liam was the one to figure it out."

The girl's eyes narrowed at the mention of Liam, then grew wide as what James said sunk in. "A Pure Blood?" she repeated, her voice cracking. "No," she shook her head, "I'm a Half Blood. I'm Ashmore's half daughter."

"Actually, that was just a cover," Zachariah said, stepping forward.

Jaden stared in disbelief, "Who the fucking hell are you?" she snapped.

Zachariah smiled and said, "I am the ruler of the Nichelle."

With a look best described as one just struck by lightning crossed her face as she chocked out one word, "Louis?" The phrase, _oh god, I'm dead_ ran through her head.

Zachariah burst out laughing. James smiled slightly and the Vampire of Zachariah's entourage remained impassive. Jaden felt small and stupid. Once his bellows of laughter died down, Zachariah explained, "In the public eye, yes, my half brother _is_ our leader. But, to those who know the existence of the Pure Bloods, which is very few average Vampires, I, Zachariah Nichelle am the true ruler." He shrugged, and then spread his arms wide, adding, "Louis is as much my puppet as James here is his."

Jaden uttered a tiny, "oh." Gathering her courage, she stammered, "Why…why did you say that my being Ashmore's daughter is a cover? Its who I am."

Nichelle shook his head, "About nineteen years ago, there was a pact made to strengthen the alliance between the League of Nichelle and the League de Myra. Three children were to be born. One was the child of the Vampire Benjamin Ashmore, Chief Commander Nathan Korr, and secret de Myra Faithful, Anne Korr. Her name was Jaden." The girl took a step back. Zachariah matched it with a step forward. "The second child was the son of Anna-Maria Gable and Thomas Drew," he continued. "His name was Graham." Zachariah took a second step as Jaden remained rooted to the floor. "The third child was my own; I, and the sister of the de Myra's ruler, had a child. Her name was Elaina." He watched as the girl's eyes widened. "Now, to protect Elaina, as Anne Korr's last act on earth, she made a switch, so that her child's place was taken by mine." He paused, and put his hands on the girl's shoulders, leaning down so he looked her in the eye. "Now which child do you think you were?" he breathed.

The child stood as if carved from stone, except she trembled as if there were an earthquake. In a voice that cracked and trembled, she whispered, "The third?"

With a smile, her father nodded and murmured, "I've missed you Elaina," as he drew her into his embrace.

* * *

**_right...again...no clue when then next chapter will be up...school is stupid...hate my life...the basic teenage ramblings...haha...reviews please!_**


	32. Explaining to Elaina

"I don't understand," she said pushing Zachariah away. "I _can't_ be a Pure Blood. Until James kidnapped me, I wasn't like a Vampire at all, so how the hell could I have been a _full_ Vampire from birth?" She glared up at him, arms crossed, legs spread apart to balance her weight, her chin thrust mulishly forward.

Zachariah smiled saying, "You never tasted my blood, and therefore, you were just like a human. You became like your fellow Vampires when you tasted James' blood. That instance was mistaken for your Turn, from Half Blood Human to Half Blood Vampire."

"_James' _blood. Not yours!" She snarled, gesturing wildly at him.

Zachariah raised an eyebrow. "James _is_ my blood. He was the Turn of Alexander Tsar, who was the Turn of Louis Nichelle, my brother, whom I Turned. My blood." He smirked at the furious girl, who was sputtering in outrage.

"What about the sun?" she snapped. "Sunlight kills Vampires, and I've never even gotten a bad sunburn. If I've been a Vampire all my life, wouldn't I have been killed by going outside in the day?"

"That," Zachariah said triumphantly, "is one of the reasons Pure Blood existence has gone unnoticed to humans for all this time. We _don't_ die in the sun. We may walk among the humans, in the dark or light."

Jaden gaped at the man. "They can live in sunlight?" she gasped.

"_We_ can live in sunlight, Elaina," the older vampire replied, shaking the girl's shoulders. "You don't have to hide away like a rat, afraid of a little sunbeam. You can walk into the sun without fear of death or recognition as a Vampire."

Jaden staggered back out of Zachariah's enthusiastic grip, breathing, "How is that possible?"

He shook his head, "I don't know, Elaina. Since the first Pure Bloods walked the earth, we have been able to step into the sun, while the Turned are unable to. Even the Half Bloods can't." He frowned, "Wait, that's not exactly true." He shrugged, "They can survive for about an hour if they consume enough blood during the time."

"But I had the dreams, like James said Half Bloods do," Jaden insisted. "So I have to be Half Blood!" With an embarrassed cringe, she realized she was whining and her voice had just cracked.

"That can explained as you subconscious longing for what it had always been without," he replied. With a shrug, he added, "Its like being virgin who longs for something that they feel is missing. I.E. sex. They know they want it; they just don't realize what exactly _it is_."

"So you're saying I was a sex fiend?" Jaden snarled, disgusted.

Zachariah chuckled, "In a way, yes. But it was for blood, not skin."

"That's disgusting," she snarled.

Zachariah rolled his eyes, "What else would you like me to tell you, girl?" he growled, his reasonable expression sliding away to one of anger. "I just as well told you were a _royal_ among your kind, and you refuse to accept it!"

"_My kind_?" Jaden snarled. "My kind are the Agents; humans! Not demons that once only existed in stories, who rose up and terrorized the world for nearly a millennia!"

Zachariah was looking at her in fury. He looked over Jaden shoulder and said to an unnoticed bodyguard standing at the door, "Bring me the light," before glaring down into the girl's furious brown eyes

Everyone else in the room shifted uncomfortably, wondering what would happen next. There was a silence that settled over the room, crackling like lightning between the two Pure Bloods as they stared each other down, daring the other to make a move. The silence broke when the bodyguard returned, carrying what appeared to be an Agent's standard issue Sunbeam, which was a flashlight that carried the full spectrum of sunlight in it.

Without a word of thanks, he took the light and handed it to James, instructing, "Demonstrate to Elaina what would happen to her if exposed to sunlight, and she were a mere Turned." James nodded slightly, a hollow look in his eyes. He beckoned Maddox, who'd been standing by the door, over to him. Zachariah seized the back of Jaden's neck in an iron grip, holder her in place, forcing her to look forward.

James murmured something to Maddox as the large man knelt, and thrust out his hand palm up, turning his face away. James switched on the light. The air was split by Maddox's shriek of agony and the stench of burning flesh as the Sunbeam's light penetrated his skin. Jaden squeezed her eyes shut and tried to turn away, but Zachariah's vice-like hold on her neck held her fast. James turned the Sunbeam off a mere few seconds after applying it to Maddox's skin, but there was a hole that went all the way through his hand that was a large as his palm. Whimpering slightly, Maddox cradled his hand to his chest as James quickly knelt at his side, presenting his wrist.

Jaden stared in horror at the hole in Maddox's hand as her stomach clenched in revulsion. When the skin finally finished slowly knitting itself back together, it was a dead black color, burned and withered. Maddox delicately inspected his palm with a wince, gasping when his finger touched his blackened skin. "As one of the Turned, that would be his fate, should he venture into the sun," Zachariah murmured in Jaden's ear. "Shall we see what happens to a Half Blood?" Wide eye, Jaden shook her head enigmatically, but Zachariah shrugged her off. "James, its your turn."  
Jaden watched, eyes bulging as James nodded, took a deep breath, turned his face away and switched the Sunbeam on to shine on his hand. He gritted his teeth and groaned as his skin turned red, blistered and burned in a matter of seconds. He fell to his knees with a gasp, dropping the still active Sunbeam, the Vampires in the room scattering as it rolled across the floor. Zachariah seized it and put Jaden in a headlock before she had time to react. He held the Sunbeam away from her as he exclaimed, "now, we find out what you really are. Turned? Half Blood?" He swung the light to shine into her face, "Or Pure Blood?"

Jaden squeezed her eyes shut and tensed, waiting for the instant in which adrenaline failed and pain won. That instant never came. She opened her eyes and winced when they stared into a very bright light. Zachariah released her from his headlock, and she collapsed to the ground. Squatting at her side, Zachariah pulled her chin to look at his hand as he shone the Sunbeam on it. The only change to his skin was it was illuminated. With a smile, he turned to his daughter and whispered, "Pure Blood."

Jaden looked at the floor, angry tears welling in her eyes, her world crashing down around her. Memories swam before her eyes. _No_, she thought, _I don't want to be one of them_. "It was all a lie," she whispered, not realizing she'd spoken aloud.

"It was to protect you, Elaina," her father assured her. Jaden looked away. "The real Jaden Korr was killed six years ago by the same people who killed the man you referred to all your life as _Father_."

Jaden looked up, her watery eyes sizzling, "the Danalli," she hissed, sounding more animal than James had ever heard her.

Zachariah nodded, "The League of Danall wanted to destroy the alliance between the League of Nichelle and the League de Myra. To destroy the alliance, is to destroy the children. Within hours of each other, Jaden Korr and Graham Drew were assassinated." He laid a hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently, "it was the lie you'd been living that saved you from the real Jaden's fate."

She glared at James, "But why try to Turn me and convince me I was a Half Blood?"

Zachariah chuckled, "do you really think we advertised Jaden Korr's role in the works? No. Benjamin Ashmore only knew he had a child with a woman named Anne. He wanted his bloodline to become stronger, so he convinced James and Alexander to 'Turn' you." He got to his feet as he added, "I was going to track you down and tell you who you were personally on your twenty-first birthday, or when you made Senior Agent, whichever came first. Ashmore just jumped the gun a little."

Jaden stared at a space on the wall for a time, not looking at anyone. "What do you plan to do with me now?" she asked, breaking the silence that had once more enveloped the room.

"Get you out of Venisa, for starters," was Zachariah's immediate reply. "You will leave your past behind. Agent Jaden Korr must disappear, or the Organization will discover her presence within the Nichelle and destroy them and you. Also, the League of Danall will be furious to learn of your survival, and will stop at nothing to kill you once and for all. "

Jaden mutely nodded. James stepped forward, "my lord, where will you take her?" he asked.

Zachariah turned to him, his eyes sweeping over the rest of the room. "I would not reveal where in such an open manner. When we are alone, arrangements will be made for her transportation."

James nodded murmuring, "Yes, my lord."

"Leave us," the Pure Blood ordered, turning to the others in the room, "I wish some time alone with my daughter." Over the murmurs of _yes, sir,_ and _of course, milord_, Zachariah added to James, "Bring us something to eat, and be sure to tend to your hand."

Nodding, James shut the door behind the last of the departing Vampires. Zachariah sat on the edge of James' bed, and watched Jaden as she bore a mental hole in the wall. "Why kill my father?" she asked suddenly.

"Pardon?"

She looked up at Zachariah. "Why kill Nathan Korr? Why not me? Didn't Ian Cross know I was the third child?"

"Oh, that," Zachariah said, almost dismissively. "No, he had no clue that you were anything but Nathan Korr's daughter. He saw you as leverage against the Organization, not as a threat."

"But he, Cross, wanted something," Jaden insisted, "and my father refused to give it up. Wasn't it me?"

He shook his head, "Ian Cross wanted power. He wanted control. He believed Nathan Korr would give up the control of the Organization to him. If the Danalli had the Agents on their side, there would be no safe haven for those not of their League in Venisa."

Jaden watched Zachariah's face with watery eyes, asking in a trembling voice, "So, it was _not _my fault that my father was killed? It _wasn't _because of me?"

Zachariah looked as if he were resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "No, Elaina. Korr did not die because of you. But he was _never_, your father. _I am_."

Jaden nodded, a tear streaking down her cheek. "You are probably right," she murmured sadly. "I just don't want to believe it."

"Once you join me in Cordalla, you will believe it. There you will be treated like the person you are; treated as your birthright dictates," Zachariah told her, encouraging her. It was at that moment, the door opened, and three of Zachariah's bodyguards slipped into the room, a human woman being pulled between them. "Ah, very nice," he said to the men. He got up off the bed and pulled Jaden to her feet. "Now Elaina, this fine gentlemen are my most trusted servants. I would like you to choose one of them to act as your guard from now on." He gestured to them before adding, "allow me to introduce Joseph Brent, Michael Fuller, and Nikoli Marchette."

He pointed to Joseph who was of average height, but had a build much like Maddox, all muscle, mean to the core, and no signs of intelligence. His head was shaved bald, and his eyes were dark and cold. Jaden did not like the look of him. He appeared cruel and heartless, prone to savagery and violence. Too much like the Vampires she encountered in her past life. "Brent is a Half-Blood, and is the son of your great-nephew's second cousin."

Zachariah pointed to Michael next. "Fuller here, Pure Blood, is your brother's great-grandson's wife's niece's son. You two are barely related, but related all the same." Michael Fuller looked much like a bodyguard should. Well built, strong, a hint of intelligence that would mean life or death depending on how much of a hint it was, and a blank face that bore watching, impassive eyes. His critical stare unnerved Jaden. He did not have the look of one who cared if a person got hurt, only so long as his charge was in enough pieces to be called whole. Jaden did not like the look of him either.

"Finally, Marchette, also of Pure Blood, is of no relation to you or me, whatsoever." Nikoli was very different from his two colleagues. His eyes were intense, a deep but brilliant green, glinting with knowledge and assessing everything they saw. His reddish hair curled slightly, the color a supreme contrast to the baldness and the short black fuzz of his companions. As he shifted, she saw how much he conserved his energy, every movement carefully economized, never wasting. He looked much like the elite of the Senior Agents did. Ready to fight in a heartbeat; a person easily able to relate with her. Something about him, whether it was the actual life in his gaze or his likeness to her, drew him to her eye, holding it.

Jaden glanced at Zacharaih. "You want me to choose now?" she asked, a little apprehensive. He nodded. Jaden sighed, "then I choose Marchette."

Zacharaih clapped her on the shoulder, saying, "A very good choice, my dear. I'll leave you two to get better acquainted, while I talk with Tsar about your travel arrangements." He beckoned the remaining bodyguards to follow him, leaving the human behind with Jaden and Marchette.

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**_Alrighty, i have no clue when i'll be able to next update, or for how much longer the story will be going. There will be at least one more chapter...and...who knows, a sequel, if i can get my act together. Thanks for reading and waiting so long for an update...JG_**


	33. The Fate of Liam Neskab

**_ok, i've decided ot continue writing this story...for the time being...as the part i had didnt seem all that close to an ending...hehe...ok hten...on with the story...JG

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_**Jaden stood for a while, staring at the shut door. She was snapped out of her stupor by Marchette, who asked, "Are you thirsty, madam?" 

Jaden looked up at him, and then to the human he'd brought with him, and shook her head. "Do what you want with her, I'm going to my room." She stalked out of James' suite.

It wasn't until she was trying to close her own door behind her that she realized Marchette had followed her. "What do you want?" she snarled, trying to slam the door in his face. He was able to stop it with ease and force his way into the room

Raising an eyebrow, he replied, "Guarding you." He said this in a tone of someone pointing out the obvious.

Jaden glared, "do I look like I need guarding?" She stood, legs braced, fists resting on her hips, staring him down.

He smiled crookedly, with a slight shake of his head. "Yes, I believe you do need protection." When she glared again and opened her mouth to speak again, Marchette held up a hand, adding, "you are so unsure of yourself now. All you know has been set to flame. You are confused and afraid, which makes you vulnerable. There are many here who would take advantage of that. That is what I am protecting you from."

"Vulnerable?" Jaden sputtered, outraged.

Marchette nodded. "Yes. Vulnerable. Right now you mourn the loss of your previous life, and grieve to learn it was all of it false. Your guilt, for the Korr girl's death, and that of Nathan Korr, is clouding your judgment. That was why you chose _me_, as your protector, and not Brent or Fuller, because you saw a shadow of your past in me. It is this vulnerability which could lead to your death." He approached her, taking her hand. "Elaina, heed me," he softly said, "Let go of Jaden Korr. Forget she ever existed. You never were her, and never will or can be." He squeezed her hand. "You are Elaina Nichelle, daughter of Zachariah Nichelle and Satine Myra, two of the greatest Pure Bloods living, and most powerful in the Leagues Nichelle and de Myra." Laying a hand on her shoulder, he shook her gently. "Your brother will one day lead the people of the League of Nichelle; and one day, you will carry on in his stead." Jaden stared at him, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "Vampires are not all as you've encountered. The ones you fought as an Agent were young and wild, untamed by the passing of time and patience. Those of whom you were born, are just as the humans are, only a new branch on a stronger evolutionary line. We are what will survive, when the squabbles of mortals wipe them out. You descend from kings, not savages, like you believe." Jaden was staring at him unblinkingly still. "What?" he asked in exasperation, after the silence of her gaze enveloped the room.

Jaden smirked, "I'd never take you as one who makes long speeches."

He glared at her. "I didn't mean to make a speech," he snarled, "you were just being impossible and obtuse."

Jaden grinned. She liked this man, for all his vampire-ness. It was fun to annoy him, and his exasperation and annoyance was easy to invoke. Her smile faded slowly, and a look of tiredness overcame her. "If its alright with you," she murmured, "I'd like some time alone."

Marchette gave a sort of nod-bow, and immediately left the room. As the door closed, the breeze it stirred up made the smell of blood on her skin apparent. Jaden looked at her clothes, and shuddered with revulsion to realize she was covered in blood. She stripped off her shirt and threw it to the floor, it crackled as the dried blood on it was disturbed. Running a hand through her hair, she discovered it was crusty and matted, also with blood. Making a face, she pulled off the rest of her clothes and walked to her bathroom. She opened the door, and discovered she was not the only one in her room as someone grabbed her from behind and pinned her to the wall. Her scream of rage and surprise was blocked by a large hand.

As she writhed against her attacker, he chuckled and whispered in her ear, making her freeze. "Don't you remember the last time you resisted me?"

_Fuck_, was the first thought that entered Jaden's mind, followed closely by, _I'm going to __**kill **__this bastard_!

His free hand roamed down her side and caressed her hip as he hissed in her ear, "oh, how nice of you to save me the effort of removing your clothes. But I just want to talk, milady." Jaden tried to bite his hand, but he gripped her chin, holding her jaw shut. "Now I'm going to let go of your mouth, so we can talk like civilized creatures. Promise me you won't scream."

_It won't be me screaming, fucker_, she murderously thought, but she nodded all the same. He freed her mouth, but continued to hold her pinned to the wall. "What do you want, Neskab?" Jaden snarled as soon as she could use her voice.

She could almost hear him smirk. "I wanted to clear up some misconceptions you seemed to have about me, before you next see your father." Jaden stiffened; she could tell the next thing he said would piss her off. It did. "You see, Elaina, in the course of your Blood Rage, you had some powerful hallucinations. One being that I set myself upon you the day we met. Though you believe it true, it was nothing more than a vision brought on by the Rage. Understand?"

For ten seconds, Jaden stood absolutely still, counting down. 5…4…3…2…1! Her elbow jabbed behind her, while her head also was thrust back. She succeeded in digging her elbow into Liam's stomach and smashing the back of her head into his face. Roaring in pain, Liam crumpled, crying out once more when Jaden's foot connected with his chin. He was stunned long enough for Jaden to seize him around the throat, dig her nails in, and drag him to her eye level. "Here, let me help you," she snarled, the words coming out in a feral growl. Liam's eyes widen as he remembered when those words were used last. She gave him one look of pure unadulterated hatred, before she scooped a hand behind his head and sunk her teeth into the flesh of his throat.

He screamed loudly in Jaden's ear, but she became deaf to it. She didn't hear when Marchette came bursting in and yelled for her to stop. She didn't even feel his hands pulling her away from Liam. All there was to her was the sweet revenge in his blood.

With a jerk, she was pulled away from her prey though. She tried to return to him, but there were two hands firmly on her shoulders, pushing her so she stumbled backwards out of the bathroom. She felt a robe being placed about her shoulders, but didn't realize it completely. All she could do was stare at Liam, bleeding on the bathroom tiles, motionless.

"Well, that was exciting," someone commented near her. She was forced into sitting on her bed, being pushed back down every time she tried to rise again. Her view of Liam was obstructed as someone knelt at his side, offering a wrist to him. Rage bubbled up in Jaden's chest as the saw he still lived. Once more she tried to throw herself at him, only to be roughly tackled and crushed under someone's larger weight. Now, instead of sitting on the nice bed, she was being straddled by some guy, his mass digging her into the hard floor. For a while, she mindless struggled to free herself, only to get her wrists grabbed, accidentally sliced open, and get her head knocked against the floor (which was not an accident).

Finally, in frustration and rage, she screamed at the man restraining her, "Get off me so I can kill the mother-fucker!"

She felt the man shake with laugher, as he simply replied, "No. Sorry." She bared her teeth and snarled. In response, he raised an eyebrow and looked unimpressed.

"Is Master Neskab okay?" someone else asked, a note of concern in her voice.

_He won't be when I get free again_ Jaden's mind snarled. _I'll start by ripping off his balls, one by one. Then I'll rip out his hair, piece by piece. Finally, I rip open his throat. And if that doesn't kill him, I'll light him on fire, just for the fun of it_!

The man who was restraining her must have sensed her thoughts, because his grip redoubled on her wrists, immobilizing her completely. "Calm down," he advised, squeezing her wrists. "If you go psycho now, you won't be able to prove what he does. They'll see an insane girl, attacking a Pure Blood who has seemingly done nothing to her." He said all this in a voice only she could hear over the bustle of people attending Liam's wounds. "If you want to get him back, you stay still. Understand?"

For the first time, she looked away from the man she very nearly murdered, and at her captor. It was Andrew. He stared at her, as if to read her answer in her eyes. It was there, but she slowly nodded all the same. Watching her closely, he let go of her wrists and sat up so he pinned her hips to the floor still. Seeing she wasn't about to go berserk again, he shifted so he could adjust her bathrobe.

"What's going on here," an authoritative voice asked from the door. Andrew shifted suddenly, allowing Jaden a glimpse at the speaker. "Why is my daughter being treated in such a manner? Get off her, boy!" Zachariah Nichelle snapped.

"No," Marchette snapped instantly, before Andrew had even moved. "She'll be a danger to us and herself if she's allowed to move," He quickly explained to his master. He looked at Andrew, "stay."

Jaden glared up at Marchette, "the only one in danger will be _him_," she pointed at Liam as someone was helping him to his feet.

"Really?" Zachariah asked curiously, "And why is that?" He turned to Liam, and addressed him sharply, "Why is that?"

Liam gave him an incredulous look, "How should I know? The girl is obviously still under the effects of Blood Rage." He shrugged, "if I'm not mistaken, she had a vision in which she took a great disliking to me. This probably explains why she attacked me before your arrival. She seems to think I hurt her in some way. Obviously I wouldn't!"

"That's a _fucking lie_!" Jaden roared, thrashing wildly to break away from Andrew. "He attacked me, and every other Turned girl of a high bloodline."

Zachariah glanced at her, and then back to Liam, "That's a dangerous accusation, Elaina." Still staring at him, "It could mean dire consequences if its true."

"It is!" Jaden snarled. "If you don't believe me, ask Vanessa Cartier! He raped her! Ask James! That piece of shit raped and killed _his wife_!"

The room went silent. Those around Liam seemed to edge away subtly. Zachariah turned to James, who stood by the door, and asked, "Is it true? Did he lay hands upon my daughter, and your wife."

James looked statue-like for an instant, before he said one word, in a cracking voice. "Yes."

Zachariah faced Neskab, raising an eyebrow. "Really? Is this correct, Liam?"

Neskab looked away, and muttered something like, "No. They're just jealous. And they asked for it; they were all whores anyway."

Suddenly, in a movement too fast for anyone to see, Liam was slammed against the wall by the furious James. "You piece of lying _horse shit_," James snarled, smashing Neskab's head against the wall. "Annabelle was _no whore_!"

"James!" Zachariah commanded harshly, "Release him!" With a look that should have set the other man aflame, the furious widower relinquished his stranglehold, and backed away, trembling. Zachariah took a step towards Liam, who flinched as if he'd been slapped. "You laid hands upon my daughter, without her consent; didn't you?" He asked in a frighteningly calm, menacing voice. Liam looked terrified, all he could do was nod. Zachariah narrowed his eyes. "Then your fate then will not be a happy one," he informed him in a soft voice. "Liam Neskab, you are to be sent to the blood farms, to be used as sustenance for the Newborns there, and as hunting practice for those that need to learn." The accused man's eyes widened in horror.

"Furthermore," the vengeful father continued, "upon the birth of my daughter, Elaina's, first child, you shall be brought so that she does not need to tax herself in finding blood donors until the child is old enough to hunt. At which point, you will become its trainer." When a glimmer of hope appeared in Liam's eyes, Zachariah shot it down by adding, "You will be the hunted!" Liam winced and hunched, as if curling up would save him from his fate. "So shall be your place in the world, for every single child my daughter bears. Also, for every child they bear, you shall act as blood donor for their first two years of life. Do you understand me?" The wretched man, who was moments ago a proud Pure Blood, nodded as tears streamed down his face. By now, he'd slid down the wall and was huddled on the floor, weeping.

Zachariah stepped away from the sobbing mess of a man with a look of disgust and instructed his bodyguards. "Have his sent to the blood farm by morning. There, he is to have his genitals removed with a handsaw, one stroke per minute. He is not to be provided with blood during the procedure." Liam made a strangled sound behind Zachariah, who paid no notice. "Afterwards, you shall remove his hands, with the same instrument, going at half the speed. Only once he has lost both appendages will he be supplied with blood. And only enough to stop the bleeding." He turned to Brent, and informed him, "You shall be bringing him to the farm. Be sure that my instructions are followed. You make take whomever you wish from Tsar's staff with you."

Brent bowed to his lord, and then motioned for Maddox to help him drag the damned man from the room.

Jaden stared as she watched him go, hatred still raging inside her, an evil monster cheering as he wept for himself. She tried to sit up, then realized Andrew was still sitting on her. Raising an eyebrow, she said, "I think you can get off me now."

"Hmm?" Andrew stared, drawn back to reality after the lordly display of Zachariah's. "Oh! Right!" He rolled off her and helped her to her feet, muttering, "Sorry Korr – I mean, Miss Elaina."

Marchette immediately moved to her, knotted the bathrobe that loosely covered her, and checked her for injuries. Jaden had barely known him twenty minutes, and he was running his hands over her body with alarming familiarity. But, the instant he was assured she was unhurt, he took a large step back, and held himself away from her. Andrew quickly followed in suit.

Zachariah cracked a small smile when Jaden glanced in his direction. "You certainly don't know how to live a docile life." Jaden just stared incredulously, which made her father laugh. Then, as quickly as he'd been happy, he turned serious. "Did his punishment seem to fit the crime, Elaina?"

Jaden looked at the ground as her mind said instantly, _No_. But she knew that allowing her to simply kill him would not be punishment enough. There'd be no way to draw it out long enough to truly hurt him as he'd hurt her and so many before her. "For personal gratification," she said quietly, "no. But for justice for all those women and girls," she looked up at him, hatred burning in her teary eyes "yes."

A wry smile crossed his face as he replied, "good." And he wrapped her in his arms, "I am glad you approve, my daughter. And Marchette," he added, releasing Jaden and advancing on his bodyguard, his voice growing more menacing by the syllable. "Be certain that no one ever enters my daughter's room without her knowledge. Is that understood?" Any other man would be cowering and whimpering, but Marchette stood his ground and nodded, his eyes only betraying his fear. "See to it," the angry father snarled.

Zachariah then turned back to Jaden and pleasantly said, "get dressed, we are transferring to a different compound soon. One that is closer to the airstrip where we will be leaving from. I want to be out of this building by one hour after sunset." Jaden mutely nodded.

The lord of the Nichelle turned on his heel and swept from the room, people rushing to follow. In a matter of moments, the only people still in the room were Jaden and Marchette, who was standing in the same spot and stance as when Zachariah was chastising him.

When Jaden stared at him, confused, after a moment, he gave a stiff bow and said, "Forgive me, milady for being so lax in my security measures for your safety. It was improper of me not to sweep the room. There is no excuse for my actions." He straightened from his bow. "You may discipline me in whatever way you see fit." After saying this, he dropped to his knees, and bowed his head.

Jaden just gaped at him for a moment, stunned by his words. "Get up," she said weakly. "I don't want to _discipline_ you." She was horrified that he expected it too. Marchette instantly was on his feet, obeying almost before she'd finished uttering the phrase. He was as stiff as ever. "Calm down! I don't want to hurt you," she assured him. "Relax!"

He gave her an almost suspicious look, as if he suspected a trap. But after a moment, his posture became less rigid and he looked less like a statue and more like a living organism. He took a deep breath before inquiring, "Will milady be washing up before dressing?" For a confused moment Jaden didn't know what he was talking about. But he gave her apparel a pointed look, and she remembered she was covered in blood, fresh and old, and wore nothing but a bathrobe.

"Yes," she replied, "I will."

He gave a bowing nod, and asked, "Will you need assistance in anything, madam?"

"No, I can manage on my own. Thank you," she answered.

Marchette bowed again and said, "Then I shall wait, until you call for me, in the hall, if it pleases you." Jaden absently nodded as she went to the wardrobe to find something to wear. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Marchette walk to the bathroom, and check it thoroughly, as well as the rest of the room. When she turned away from the wardrobe and looked over at him, he nodded to her and left the room.

Jaden stood in the shower for the longest time, letting the hot water run over her, washing away the last of Liam Neskab, from her body and thoughts. She was also trying to wash away who she was. She was so confused, so uncertain. She had lived a lie all her life. She both desired and loathed to let the Agent fade away, to let all the temptation that lay before her, to consume her, and to forget the world she once was a part of. But it was impossible. Move openly with the Vampires, and the Agents would destroy her. Move to escape the Vampires, and the Nichelle would be convinced she was betraying them, and would also destroy her. Even if she chose neither side, she would still be hunted. She had to choose. Jaden or Elaina? Elaina or Jaden?

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**_ok...shitty chapter ending...i just wanted to get across how Jaden/Elaina felt about this stuff going on...ok...thanks for reading_**


	34. Saying Goodbye

_**Just so you know….if Jaden/Elaina is referred to as Jaden, then it is from her point of view…from anyone else's, she's Elaina Nichelle. I also wanted to make Nikoli Marchette a more rounded character…so some of his thoughts come across here too. They are simply "man regarding hot woman" thoughts…hehehe**_

Jaden stepped out of the shower, as confused as ever. Blindly, she pulled on her clothes. She was so lost in thought, it took her a minute she was trying to force her left shoe on her right foot, her pants were not yet on, and that her shirt was on backwards. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly in a sigh, and sat on the bed.

Right then, there was a small knock at the door. "Who is it?" she called.

"Marchette," the man answered. "Are you alright madam? You've been in there an awfully long time. May I come in?"

Jaden was still half dressed, so she called, "wait a moment." She got to her feet, righted her shirt, donned a pair of jeans and pulled her shoes each onto the proper foot. "Alright. You may come in," she told the waiting bodyguard.

When he walked in, he surveyed the room, his eyes slowly coming to rest on his charge. Subtly, he assessed her, and enjoyed what he saw. The low cut, close-fitting jeans she wore showed off sexy curves and a fine ass. The stiletto boots she wore, almost completely hidden under the legs of her jeans, made her legs seem longer and more graceful. Her red tank top hugged her upper body, seeming to strain against her breasts as she breathed, and was cut high enough to show off the lower half of a well-toned set of abs. The shirt accentuated the girl's full cleavage, but the damp chestnut brown curls that fell over her shoulders, twisting and twirling around her throat, hid half the goods. Marchette believed that guarding this girl would not be all that hard, if it meant always being with such a magnificent creature.

He cleared his throat and dropped his eyes, mere seconds after first laying them upon her. "Madam, it is cold outside," he observed, adding, "It's January."

Elaina crossed her arms over her chest, raised an eyebrow and said, "So? Its not like I can _feel _the cold."

Marchette smiled slightly, but added, "I think it would be wise to wear some sort of jacket, ma'am. If our car is stopped, something may seem amiss if a young woman, such as yourself, is seen in such as state of undress; in the middle of winter."

She considered what he'd said, then nodded, striding towards the wardrobe. He got a pleasant view of her rear as she bent over to retrieve a jacket that had fallen to the floor of the wardrobe. For the briefest instant, he smirked as he imagined gripping that superior ass and grinding into it as she moaned in ecstasy. But as his charge straightened, he was the cold, professional bodyguard again; every thought of her that was improper was banished willfully. She was Elaina Nichelle after all, not some floozy he could idly seduce. There would be time for thoughts of and deeds with women later; now was when he had to focus all his energy on keeping Elaina alive. _Not _fantasizing about her.

"Is this better?" she asked, turning back to him. She wore a dark brown corduroy tailored jacket, still open, over her revealing shirt. He nodded stiffly and answered the cell phone that was vibrating at his hip.

"Yes?" He paused, listening to the voice on the other end. "Of course…A good idea…. No…No, there should be no problem…It will be less conspicuous with just two…No, we'll meet you there. Its better if we keep them separated, less likely a traitor can track their movements…Are you sure? …... All right. I'll see you at the plane." He hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Nichelle asked as she sat back on her bed.

"Your father is leaving now for a compound near the airstrip. You and I will travel a separate route to a compound just outside the city." He glanced around, "this place is not safe to discuss such things in, so you're going to have to trust me. Alright?"

She stared at him for a moment, and then nodded. "When do we leave?"

Glancing at his watch, Nikoli said, "In about a half-hour. If you want to say goodbye to anyone, you'd better do it quickly."

She shook her head, "there's no one to say goodbyes to. It's not like I developed any sort of relationship with these people. I mean," she shrugged, "up until several hours ago, I was convinced they had all ruined my life." Marchette frowned at the bitterness in her words.

"What about James?" He asked, confused.

She gave him a slight glare, "What about him?" she snapped.

Marchette was a little taken aback, "You _don't_ have a personal relationship with him?" he asked, incredulously.

Elaina made a face, "No. Eww!" She shuddered, "why in god's name would you think that?"

Marchette raised an eyebrow. "He told you about his wife." When the girl shrugged, and made a _so what?_ face. "Look," he continued, "there are very few people who _ever _knew of Annabelle's existence. There are even fewer still alive." _Why am I pressing this point? Why do I care? _He asked himself.

Elaina looked stunned. She stood frozen, her lips forming into a surprised "oh." She shook her head. "Why tell me? Its not like I was important."

Marchette shrugged in return, and rolled his eyes, "that's why I was asking you. You did sleep with him though, didn't you?"

The girl's look of confusion turned to one of embarrassed shock. "What? How do you know?" she squeaked.

He roared with laughter. "I could smell him all over you, and you all over him. It was either he recently bit you, or he's slept with you."

Elaina looked at the floor, blushing furiously, unhappily. "So it seems my private life will be lost to a sense of smell," she mused wryly. "Joy!" she added sarcastically.

Over his laughing fit, Marchette shook his head and said, "no madam. Its just I wanted to watch you squirm. Forgive me for my cruelty." He said all this with a hint of amusement lying beneath his words. Elaina rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

Just then, there was a soft knock at the door. Marchette instantly became serious. Silently and quickly, he moved to the door, ripped it open and drew a gun. James, who'd been standing on the other side, raised an eyebrow and sarcastically remarked, "hello to you too."

Marchette holstered his weapon, muttering, "Sorry."

James smiled slightly and said quietly, "Hello madam," with a slight nodding-bow. Glancing over at Marchette, he asked, "When are you two leaving?"

Marchette looked made of stone, so Jaden answered in his stead. "Less than an hour."

James nodded, turning back to face Jaden. "Do you think I could talk to you? Alone?" With the last word, he emphasized it by turning to Marchette.

The bodyguard raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Jaden. She nodded. He bowed and slipped from the room, not before saying, "You should be ready to leave in a half hour, madam."

Jaden was still nodding to him as he closed the door behind him. James took Jaden's hands in his, drawing her attention back to him. "Elaina, I am sorry if I ever mistreated you. I only acted the way I did because you represented those who I despised. If we'd met under different circumstances, I'm sure you'd have understood why I was treating you in such a way."

Jaden was just staring at him thoughtfully. Then a small smile crossed her mouth, "Though I greatly disliked you for your kidnapping me and forcing me to join you, you are not so bad now that I know you," she said truthfully. Extracting one of her hands from his, she laid it on his cheek, saying, "I hope I can consider you a friend. Even though you made my life garbage."

James snorted at her last comment, but nodded. "Yes. Friends." Putting his hands on her shoulders, he leaned down so his forehead rested against hers, "When you return to Venisa, please, don't hesitate to find me." He gave her a crooked smile; "you've made my life quite exciting in these past few months. I can't wait to see what trouble you can come up with in the future."

Smiling, Jaden hesitantly wrapped her arms around James. Slowly, she felt his arms snake around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "Goodbye Jaden," he whispered, kissing her forehead. Then suddenly, he pulled away and left the room.

Marchette entered through the door James had left open. He sighed, "and there I was hoping to hear something more exciting than _that_!" Jaden burst out laughing, picturing the serious man with his ear pressed up against a door, straining to hear the action within. After her laughter subsided, Marchette observed, "seeing as you've said your goodbyes, would you like to leave now?"

Jaden nodded, taking one last look around the room as she closed the door for what she felt was the last time.

**_There will probably not be any Jaden/James things in the future. sorry it took me so long to update, life is jsut nuts. REVIEWS PWEASE!_**


	35. Travel Talk and Checkpoints

**_tada! new chapter! alright...there is a part in here that sounds lameish, but i couldnt' find another way to explain Pure Blood stuff. if ya don't get it, tell me bout it, and i'll have a person in later chapters explain it._**

**_enjoy...PS...when things say Elaina, others are thinking, when things say Jaden, she is thinking._**

Marchette was nervous as he led his charge to the parking garage. He'd never guarded a woman before, and it was going to be interesting, especially since she was hot and _off limits_! The treaty with his uncle's League, the Reichmar, was the only reason he was the Nichelle to begin with. It dictated that he would serve Zachariah, and his brother, Kegan, would serve Satine Myra. Never did he dream he'd directly guard Zachariah Nichelle, let alone his secret child. Any blunder could spell his death; now more so than ever, as Neskab was found unwanted in her room. Marchette had never been more terrified. He'd seen Zachariah hand out brutal punishments, and he himself had had to carry them out a few times. The ruler of the Nichelle was not a man to be trifled with. 

When they reached the garage, the rest of the convoy they'd be traveling in had arrived. They would depart in identical SUVs and each would bear a brunette female and an auburn haired man. Some of the men had needed to dye their hair to fit the description. As he helped Elaina into the vehicle, he noticed that she was trembling. Once inside, it was just the two of them, behind two layers of bulletproof glass and reinforced steel. A bomb could go off beneath them and they'd be safe. Nothing but the best for a Nichelle. 

They had been driving in silence for about five minutes when Nichelle asked, "What exactly is the difference between a Pure Blood and a normal Vampire?"

Marchette pondered the question as he watched the road. "First of all," he said, "you are not to mention Pure Bloods in a public setting. Understood?" He glanced over to be sure she nodded. "The biggest difference is our resilience to sunlight; a huge reason for keeping our existence quiet. Another huge difference is we can bear children and sire them alone."

Elaina looked confused, "What do you mean, _sire them alone_?"

Clearing his throat, he continued, "Every male Vampire has periods in his life called his Time of Virility. It is at this time he may father a child. It occurs on anniversaries of certain lifetime events. Every twenty years, on the anniversary of his conception, he may father a child. Also, every twenty-fifth birthday after his Turn or Awakening, every five year anniversary of his Turn or Awakening, and every two year anniversary of the time he lost his virginity."

"Sorry," Elaina cut in, "but what is Awakening?"

Marchette chuckled, but didn't turn, "That's right, I guess you wouldn't know the phrase if you didn't know about Pure Bloods. A human is Turned to become a Vampire, but a Pure Blood has the Vampire Awoken in them. As a child, you were like a human child, but when you tasted the blood of your father, you were Awoken. You get it?" He looked at her, she nodded, frowning. "Its why most Pure Blood babies are kept away from their fathers. As soon as his blood touches them, their bodies reject anything human-like in them and they stop developing, this is also when Blood Lust truly appears. You can imagine the problems of having a toddler live forever." He shrugged, "its best to keep them away until they're in their late teens."

"Wait," Elaina said, "if Pure Blood babies are just like human ones, then why is Liam providing blood for my future children?"

Marchette smiled. "There are two ways to raise a Pure Blood child. The first way is how you were raised; complete separation from our world. The second way is to raise it as a Vampire. So long as the child is never exposed to the blood of his or her father, it may grow up on a mixture of food and blood. This is traditionally how Pure Bloods are raised. They become better citizens in the Pure Blood community and they're under the watchful eye of their mothers. The child may drink as much blood as it likes, and it won't show any serious Blood Lust until after its Awakening."

With a slight frown, Elaina said, "So, doesn't that mean that Ben Ashmore is a Pure Blood, because he had a daughter?"

Shaking his head, Marchette replied, "No. Remember I said _every_ Vampire male has a Time of Virility. The difference between Pure Bloods and others is that a Pure Blood in their Time of Virility may have sex with a fertile female, Vampire or not, and sire a child. A non-Pure Vampire may only _Influence_ a pregnancy."

"What?" The confused look on Eliana's face was enough to make Marchette grin. 

"An Influenced pregnancy is when the mother has had sex with a Vampire male in the first month of her pregnancy, either before or after conception," Marchette explained. "If a woman were to have sex with a Vampire during his Time of Virility, and then, before her next period, become pregnant, the resultant child would be a Human-Dominant Half Blood. This means that the child is more human than not. A Vampire-Dominant Half Blood is created when a pregnant woman sleeps with a suitable Vampire. These children have more Vampire-like qualities, such as the vivid dreams James describes, and the faint feelings around blood."

"So," she said uncertainly, "the difference is a Pure Blood can do it and the girl will be pregnant with a Vampire child, but normal Vampires need humans to actually conceive, and they just mutate the baby. Right?" Marchette nodded. "So, is a Half Blood or a Pure Blood born when a Pure Blood male gets a human woman pregnant?"

"Vampire-Dominant Half Blood," he replied, watching through the windshield. 

"Oh," she said, then fell silent. There was quiet for a few moments, and when Marchette glanced over, he saw his charge was slumped in the passenger seat, thinking hard. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and in a panic voice asked, "Wait! What if Liam Neskab was in his Time of Virility, or whatever? Could I be pregnant?" Marchette burst out laughing. "What?" Elaina asked in a panic, "Could he have gotten me pregnant?"

Still trying to control his laughter, Marchette focused harder on the road. "No, madam, you're not pregnant!"

"How can you be sure? What if he's having his Time of Virility?" she said, so agitated that her words ran together. 

He smiled reassuringnly and patted her hand saying, "Because I didn't tell you the other half of being a Pure Blood and pregnancy!"

"Huh?" she gave him a blank look. 

"There is no way you could be pregnant because you were not in your Time of Fertility at the time."

"Time of Fertility?"

"Yes," he answered, "Time of Fertility. You see madam, for a Pure Blood to get pregnant the female must also have a corresponding Time of Fertility. Though females are in Fertility much more often than men are in Virility, it's unlikely that you and him would have overlaps this early after your Awakening." 

She sat back in her seat, breathing a sigh of relief, "Thank god! I'd have killed it if I got saddled with _his_ child." She frowned and fell silent again. After a few moments, she asked, "Can a Half-Blood," she paused, trying to remember the term, "who has been Awakened, get a Pure Blood pregnant by himself?"

"Good question," Marchette replied. "This wouldn't have anything to do with dear Jamesie, would it?" Elaina's silence was answer enough. "No," he continued, "you need not worry. A Half-Blood's genetic code is not right. It will not work with a Pure Blood's. There is some sequence does not line up with a Pure Blood's. They may influence a human's pregnancy because they are still a little human still, but it is that piece of humanity that keeps them from playing part in a Pure Blood's conception." 

"Interesting," was all she said in reply. There was silence for a few moments, then "What's Blood Rage then? I heard someone talking about it."

Marchette paused to think. "Blood Rage is like," he struggled to find the words, "_puberty_. It's usually caused in times of extreme emotions. For example, your loathing for poor Liam. It's just a hormonal hiccup; like having your period." Elaina gave him a funny look, causing him to laugh. "Except of course you don't bleed, and it also happens to males."

Elaina nodded slowly. "So, how do you stop it?"

"Well," he said, shrugging, "it can be controlled and slightly contained, but completely shutting it down is dangerous. That emotion and energy needs to be released."

"So how is it controlled?"

"By the father's blood," Marchette stated simply. "When Pure Blood children are Awoken, they go to live with their father. This is because, though someone of their _father's bloodline_ may Awake them, only the blood of the actual father will calm the Rage. If the father is unable to provide blood, the child's grandfather or great-grandfather will suffice, though the effect would be less. That was why Nikita, James' half sister, was so adamant the Lord Nichellecome and not _Jordan Nichelle_, your brother, who has a daughter your age who was also raised human." The girl gave him a puzzled look. "If Jordan _had_ been your father, that's great, the Blood Rage could have been controlled. But if Jordan _wasn't_ your father, you would have gone on a berserk rampage. Zachariah was required because even if he were your grandfather, you would have been relieved of the Rage."

"How long will this go on for?" she asked in despair. "Will I have to live this way forever?"

"No, no!" Marchette scoffed. "This will pass soon. It will either end on the twenty-fifth anniversary of your Awakening, or the day your first child is born. Whichever comes first."

Elaina rolled her eyes. "Great," she said sarcastically.

�� �� 

They traveled in silence for a while. Jaden jumped when Marchette's cell phone went off. Without taking his eyes from the road, he pulled it out of his pocket and answered it. He listened mutely to what the person on the other end of the line was saying, only saying, "Alright. Good luck," before hanging up. Without another word, he pulled over to the curb, muttering what sounded like profanity under his breath. 

"What's wrong?" Jaden asked.

"There's a checkpoint up ahead," the bodyguard replied, "there's going to be Agents there. We have to get you somewhat disguised." Jaden nodded. "Open the glove compartment; there should be something in there," he told her. 

She opened it to find a pair of thick-framed glasses, what appeared to be a pair of contact lenses, makeup, and spray on tan. As she was putting the hazel coloured contacts in her eyes, Marchette asked, "Did you wear your hair up or loose as an Agent?"

Blinking rapidly to stop her weeping eyes, Jaden replied "Up."

"Alright," he said, glancing in the rear-view-mirror, "then leave it down. Put those glasses on too." Jaden nodded, but made sure to put on copious amounts of eyeliner before fixing the spectacles on her nose. 

"How do I look?" she asked, turning to her bodyguard.

He made a face, "Like Jaden Korr trying to hide herself. This is going to be interesting." He put the vehicle in gear and pulled away from the curb. His nervousness was hidden, but there all the same. _Don't worry Nikoli,_ he told himself,_ no Agent of real experience or caliber would be put at a checkpoint. No on is going to recognize her. No one!_ He told himself that over and over again. But it didn't do much to help his nerves; it just gave him a calm exterior. 

Slowly they approached the checkpoint, and joined the queue waiting to pass. There were enough cars waiting before and arriving after them that the Agents merely looked into the car to see that there was no one tied up or bleeding. After passing through, both the bodyguard and his charge let out a relieved sigh. 

Jaden had never been more nervous. She asked, "Are there any more checkpoints?" dreading the answer.

Marchette winced slightly. "Three."

Jaden crumpled slightly, breathing, "shit!"

After an hour and two checkpoints down, they had one left. That was it. Their trip was delayed by a pompous-ass Agent who made them get out of the car, so they could search the entire vehicle for possible drugs or signs of Vampires. It was lucky that Jaden had thrown the unused cosmetics out the window after using them. Jaden was forced to pretend to shiver, clutching to Marchette as they searched. As they approached the last barricade, Jaden saw that this was simply an outpost of The Organization. A mere station for a team, or individual, to monitor the streets mainly for drug or human trafficking. This Agent was used to checking cargo trucks. It'd be easy to fool him.

As the car slowed down, Marchette muttered, "one more, then we're home free!"

Jaden heard him and chuckled unhumourously. He glanced over and did his best to give her a reassuring smile, but nerves made it appear to be more of a grimace. They pulled up to the barricade, and the car ahead of them moved on, there were only them and a taxi behind them. 

This checkpoint only had two Agents at it, and judging by the time, they were about to get off shift. They went to either side of the vehicle. The man who went to the driver's side window was someone that Jaden didn't recognized; but Agent Tom Green was the man peering in her window. 

_Shit, shit , shit, _was the only though Jaden could process. He'd peered straight down at her face and she'd seen the light of recognition appear in his eyes. 

After Marchette had rolled down the window and was talking to the Agent on his side, Green just stared. "Jaden?" he mouthed. "Jaden Korr?"

Wide eyed, Jaden shook her head, and quickly looked away. Green must have signaled the other Agent, because the unknown man frowned over Jaden's shoulder, straightened and walked around the front of the car to listen to Green whispering frantically.

Marchette stiffened, and a strained look passed over his face as he tried to hear what Green was saying to the other Agent. "I know that woman! That's Jaden Korr!"

The Agent nodded subtly, and moved to the back of the car. "Sir, could you please step out of the car," he said firmly, reaching for his weapon.

Marchette slammed the door open, crashing it into the Agent. The man was knocked clear off his feet. Behind him, he heard Elaina get out of the car, and tackled the other Agent. Marchette kicked the Agent's dropped weapon away, drawing his own. He heard a struggle, and glanced back to see the other Agent fighting to overpower the smaller woman. She seized his hair and thumped his head against the pavement. Marchette put a bullet in his Agent's head before running after the taxi driver, who, unnoticed in the commotion, had leapt from his cab and took off sprinting down the street. Marchette easily caught the human, and in a second killed him by breaking his neck. 

Marchette returned to his charge, to find her pinning her Agent down. "Get up," he told her sharply. She quickly got to her feet, but when she saw her bodyguard leveling his pistol, she put a hand on his arm to stop him from pulling the trigger.

She whispered, "Wait!" He gave her a questioning look. "Let me do it." He nodded and lowered the gun slightly, though not so much as to not be covering the Agent. 

Jaden took a deep breath as she walked towards her former colleague. He scrambled away until his back contacted the side of the SUV. He then stared up at her, eyes wide, full of fear. "Jaden?" he asked, his voice cracking.

Nodding, she knelt before him. "I'm sorry Tom," she whispered, cupping his cheek with one hand, dislocating his radio transmitter with the other. Now the Agents back at the Command center were deaf and blind to all that happened to Tom Green. She also gripped his wrist hard as he moved it suddenly. Glancing down, she saw he held a knife. She added more pressure, causing him to squeak and drop the weapon. 

"Why?" he moaned. "It can't be!" Sounded ready to cry. "Jaden," he moaned again.

Jaden was instantly hit with the memory of the last time he'd said her name in such a way. It was his sisters wedding; they were drunk and in a private, secluded corner. He was pressed up hard against her, crushing her into the wall. They were both saying the other's name as if it were the last word to touch their lips before they used up their last breath. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the memory from her mind. It was him or her. If she allowed him to live, he'd give away whom she was with, and where she was going. 

Trembling, she said quietly, "I'm sorry it has to end like this, Tom," before she kissed him.

When she pulled away, his eyes were cold and hard. "Bitch!" he snarled, spitting in her face. "I loved you! You mean _nothing to me now_!"

This last tore her heart apart, driving her over the edge of control. Her fangs ripped into his neck. He screamed in terrible agony. She pulled away and left him to bleed out in the street, as Marchette guided her back to the car. She felt stone cold as she wiped blood from her hands. As she wiped Jaden Korr from her being. 


	36. To Nephrita

Marchette drove fast. That was an understatement. He pushed the SUV's engine so hard he could hear it screaming and groaning. They'd had to deviate from their original course, and now he was driving east, going the wrong way to lead to the compound. Luckily, the route he chose lead through the area that, by some stroke of luck, was void of Agents and barricades.

His mistress had been silent since she'd last spoken to the Agent. She now was just staring blankly out the window, rubbing her hands on her jacket, a lifeless look on her face.

"Madam, are you alright?" Marchette ventured, after a quarter hour of silence.

She was as still and inanimate as a statue. "Yes." She blinked once, only once, a single tear streaked down her cheek. "I'm fine."

He looked over at her. "That man, who was he?"

For the first time since getting in the car, she blinked and her eyes focused. Staring at her hands, she said, "He was…" She trailed off.

_What? _Marchette thought. _A colleague? A companion? A friend? A lover?_

"Special," was all she said. Looking at Marchette for the first time, she said harshly, "And you are never to speak of him again. Understood?"

Perceiving this to be her first order to him, Marchette nodded saying, "As you wish, madam."

Looking around them, she realized they were in the industrial section of the city. "Where are we?" she asked curiously, breaking a tense silence that had formed between them.

"Plan B," Marchette answered. "Alternate route with an alternate airstrip." He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. "Your father has left for home already. We are going to meet up with him in a couple days. For now, we're going as far East as we can."

Elaina frowned, "Isn't the Nichelle stronghold based in Cordalla? That's to the south. The Danalli have control of the east."

Marchette nodded, "Ah, yes. But the world is a sphere, so eventually, east becomes west."

"What's in the west then?" Elaina asked impatiently.

"Nephrita," he answered shortly.

"Right," Elaina said, an edge of sarcasm in her voice, obviously not getting it yet.

He grinned. "Nephrita is under the control of The League de Myra."

Elaina was silent, then she stared at him. "You're taking me to my mother." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

The bodyguard nodded as he pulled into a parking lot. "Come on," he said, opening his door, "get out."

After closing her door behind her, Elaina looked around. "Where the hell are we?" she asked. The place looked more like a popular teenage make-out spot than a Vampire compound. The parking lot seemed much like a place where some psycho would take his date, then rape and murder her. Tall, dark, dirty concrete buildings loomed over them, providing a sinister atmosphere to the lot. A black section in the wall ahead of them suggested perhaps the entrance to an underground parking garage.

Marchette laughed slightly. "This place is just a cover. We have a car waiting for us over there," he pointed into the blackness. Looking around, he took his mistress by the arm and pulled her into the dark parking garage.

Much of the rest of the night passed as a blur. There was little to remark upon that occurred. It was not long before the two Pure Bloods were high in the air, racing over hill and rock and tree. Marchette was so grateful he could have cried. Nothing more happened to put them in danger. While flying over Malsurh, the stronghold of the League of Danall, there was no reaction. No Danalli crafts were racing after them to shoot them out of the sky.  
The first trouble they encountered was in the air over Nephrita. It appeared that the League de Myra was on a different radio frequency, and Marchette was tuned into one that human civilians used. Knowing he shouldn't answer, for fear of giving himself and his charge away, he kept silent as an annoying human told him to announce himself. As he did this, he spoke on his cell phone frantically to try to get onto the right frequency. Finally he got his answers, told the annoying human that he was a cargo freighter, and was simply passing over, and switched channels.

"Identify yourself," a cold voice said over the radio.

"No need," Marchette, "you know who I am."

"Very well," the voice replied. "What is the nature of your cargo?"

Marchette paused, trying to remember, "Fragile and unstable."

The cold voice then asked, "Is your cargo in any way a weapon which could harm the citizens of this city?"

"Depends on your definition of _weapon which could harm_," Marchette answered immediately. At this point, he glanced over at Elaina, and she had the most amusingly confused look on her face.

"To whom may we send a thank you card, for the gift of such cargo?" the cold voice enquired.

Marchette grinned as Elaina's frown deepened. "Sorry," he replied, "There is no return address on the packaging."

There was a pause over the radio. "What are you rambling on about?" Elaina snapped.

Marchette chuckled and said, "I'll tell you later."

The radio silence broke before Elaina could retort, the cold voice saying, "You are to remain at your present coordinates. A shuttle will arrive for you in a moment. You know how friends should greet, don't you?"

Marchette smirked, "With a hug and a kiss of course!" He flipped a switch on the dashboard, which turned on the autopilot, setting it to hover.

"Now are you going to tell me what's going on?" Elaina snapped, folding her arms over her chest.

Raising an eyebrow, Marchette asked, "Didn't you speak in codes when you were an Agent?"

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, considering what he said. Then she just sunk down in her seat, muttering, "You weren't going to tell me anyways, were you?"  
Chuckling, Marchette said, "you'll find out soon enough anyways. What I said was that I was an important person. I had a young Vampire with me. I was an ally. And you are a Pure Blood. And that last part _with a hug and a kiss _was a final password." He paused, "oh!" he remembered what he was going to say, "you are _never_ to tell anyone you're a Pure Blood. They'll figure it out themselves." When Elaina frowned in confusion, he continued, "its not exactly common knowledge that Pure Bloods exist. Its best if you let those in the know identify you before you give yourself away to a spy."

Rolling her eyes, Elaina asked, "wouldn't _I_ make the perfect spy?" She grunted in annoyance and slumped lower into her seat, sulking.

They sat in silence for several minutes after that, a silence broken when the radio crackled and a second voice came on saying, "If I were to kiss your sister, would you be terribly annoyed?"

Elaina gave her bodyguard an odd look when he replied, "It would depend on the sister."

The man on the other end chuckled, "its good to hear from you Niko. Prepare for docking." The plane suddenly rocked violently, nearly knocking Elaina from her set and throwing Marchette to the floor. "Sorry," the man on the radio said, "I haven't flown one of these shuttles in a while."

There was a banging sound in the back of the plane. Marchette got to his feet, motioning for Elaina to stay quietly where she was, as he pulled a gun from its holster, holding it subtly at his side. From the back of the plane, a voice yelled, "Don't shoot me Niko! You know its me!"

"Come forward slowly, showing me your hands," Marchette said authoritatively, leveling his gun.

From the back of the plane, a man emerged, his hands in the air. "Surely you wouldn't harm your only brother?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Marchette cocked the gun, "You're _not_ my _only_ brother."

The new man snorted, as Marchette grinned and lowered the gun. Surveying him over her bodyguard's shoulder, Elaina saw the new man was an exact copy of Marchette. The only differences were his eyes were a deep blue, and his hair was a much more shocking red.

The two gruffly embraced, muttering greetings. Turning to her, the man ran his eyes over Elaina, asking, "And, who do we have here?"

She smiled slightly; "My name is…."she trailed off. She had been about to say _Jaden_, or _Agent Korr_. She shook her head. "…Elaina. My name is Elaina."

Smirking, the man commented, "It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself more than I of who you are."

Elaina squirmed slightly and sunk lower into her seat. Marchette reached over and cuffed his brother, saying, "Shut up, Kegan. It's been a long ass night."

It was very early in the morning when the shuttle touched down onto the landing strip. A man hurried up the outside access ramp saying, "Hurry! Come with me."

Normally, Nikoli Marchette would have shot a man who barged into the aircraft his charge was on, who failed to identify himself, and who quickly ordered them to go into what could be a hostile environment. But his brother was the first out of his chair, and Kegan gave him a nod of encouragement, assuring Nikoli there was no immediate danger. Still, he made sure that he swept the area with his eyes as he walked down the access ramp.

"What's the rush?" Elaina asked, getting out of her seat, following her bodyguard out.

The strange man glanced skywards, saying, "Nearly sunup."

Elaina made a face of understanding. She'd realized then that these people were not Pure Bloods. Nikoli flashed his eyes in her direction, hoping she'd remember that he'd told her to _never_ mention Half Bloods or Pure Bloods idly. She frowned at him, knowing the reason for his glance and rolled her eyes, giving him a _well duh _kind of look.

There were three large SUVs parked on the tarmac. They were all three different models, in different colors, the only similarity being the blacked out windows, those being bulletproof glass. Congregated around said vehicles were several well built people, all dressed in expensive suits, the cloth bulging over weapons and muscle. These men were all intimidating, and most likely mercenaries, bodyguards, or assassins. More than half of these men were human still. Only one man could Marchette recognized as a Pure Blood. Subtly, the man nodded, getting into the car closest to the shuttle.

Nikoli seized Elaina by the elbow, muttering, "Keep your head down," and guided her towards the second vehicle. He opened the door and one-handedly helped her in, closing the door as he got in behind her. Kegan got into backseat of the third car, the other men climbing into the remaining seats. Two filled the front seats of their own car. One was a Faithful, the one driving, the other a Half Blood who was yet to be Awoken.

The lightening sky was brilliant pink and green as the sun prepared to rise over the skyscrapers that dominated the skyline of Nephrita. Elaina was staring out, her face pressed against the window as she watched the buildings whiz past. There were few other cars on the road, all of them traveling at the same speeds they were. The traffic enforcers seemed much more lax here than in Venisa Elaina pondered. _Stupid Day Shift_ she thought, then realized that she'd forgotten something important.

This was _Nephrita_, a Vampire dominated city. It was one of several cities worldwide in which the Organization could not get a footing. Spies were usually found quickly, and the citizens were fairly content with the Vampire rule.

"Is Nephrita still an Agent free city?" Elaina asked.

The man in the passenger seat said, "Yes." He shrugged, "well, at least as Agent free as it can get. They still got their undercover operatives infiltrating us every once in a while."

"Of course, there's still the freelancers to be concerned about," the driver added.

"Freelancers?" Elaina asked. "I've never heard of humans other than the Agents fighting the Vampires. Are there many?"

"Oh yeah, there's tonnes of them!" the man in the passenger seat replied. "They're mostly the rejects from the Academies or they're undercover Agents who stir up some action among the non-Faithful community. But there are a few who want no affiliation with the Agents, as they feel they're corrupt and not to be trusted."

"Really?" Elaina asked. "Do they have any proof of corruption?" She sounded a little indignant. Marchette noticed. He leaned over and poked her leg with a grin. She rolled her eyes when she realized that she was defending the Organization.

"Some say they do," the driver answered. "They say that the death of that Commander Korr back in Venisa was all orchestrated, that it was all a big plot schemed up by a traitorous human and the League of Danall. Personally I think that's plausible. Besides," he shrugged, "the less organized humans are against the Vampires, the longer _I'll _live."

The man in the passenger seat nudged him, giving him a stern look. "Not that he means any disrespect, sir and madam," the passenger seat man shot a glare at his partner, "_right_ Graham?"

"Oh," Graham cleared his throat and looked sheepishly at them in the rearview mirror. "I meant no disrespect at all!" he assured them.

"Don't worry," Elaina replied, "no offence taken." The vehicle fell silent again.

Ten minutes later, they pulled into a parking complex. Graham and the passenger leapt from their seats and pulled open Marchette's and Elaina's doors. But before the young Nichelle could move towards her door, her bodyguard seized her arm and pulled her out the other door behind him.

He towed her towards the building, putting his arm over her shoulder and pushing her down so she walked doubled over. Only once they were inside, down two corridors and in an elevator with the doors shut did he allow her to straighten.

"You know," she commented, "that was hardly nice." Marchette just raised an eyebrow and gave her a pointed look. "Look," she continued as she pulled off her glasses, "I've spent most of my life in dangerous situations and no one gave a shit if I got hurt. And," she lowered her voice substantially, "I was the daughter of the Chief Commander. For god's sake! I don't need to be coddled and have a six-inch-thick bubble placed around me! I am capable of watching my own back!" Her voice was no longer quiet. She was furious; her temper was hardly helped by the way Marchette was looking at her. His expression was like a parent regarding their whining, overconfident child who felt they were the best at whatever it was they were doing. "Stop looking at me like that!" she hissed, giving Marchette's chest a hard poke. "I'm not five! I demand to be treated with respect!"

When she moved to poke him again, Marchette seized her wrist and held it firmly as she fought to free herself. "I'd appreciate it, Madam, if you waited to throw your temper tantrum in a more secluded and private location."

"Temper tantrum," she sputtered, too furious to form a full sentence.

"Yes," he shot back, cutting off her newest rant. "You are acting like a spoiled child. You were assigned a bodyguard, unfortunately _me_, because your father, a much _older_ and _wiser_ person than you, with _far more_ experience in the ways of the world than _you_, thought it a good idea." He leaned down so they were face to face, barely an inch between their noses. "So you will act as your station dictates. You are of a higher class than _Agent Jaden Korr _could ever _hope _to reach, so act accordingly. I am not here to be your _babysitter_, I am here to make certain you stay _alive_, because there are far worse things that'll plague you now than the pitiful predicaments that concern an Agent. I could make your life hell, but still keep you alive. Would you prefer it that way?" When Elaina stayed silent, he continued, "Then don't be bitching about how you _don't_ need my protection. Just saying that confirms how much you _need_ it!"

The elevator dinged and the door slid open. Standing just outside the doors was a blond man with pale blue eyes. These eyes widened with shock when they rested upon Elaina.

"What's the problem?" Marchette snapped, stepping forward to shield his charge, his hand automatically falling to the butt of his gun.

The man shook his head and apologized, "Sorry Marchette. Didn't mean to startle you. I just didn't realize how much she looked like mother. I mean I saw you when you were getting off the plane but it was just a glance," he now turned to address the young woman, "now I can see you're an exact copy of mum!"

Elaina blinked. "And you are?" she asked, staring at him, confused.

"Madam, this is your half brother Rikard Myra-Ridelle," Marchette supplied. "He was waiting at the plane, but I assume didn't want to arouse suspicions by speaking with you. Is that right?" Rikard nodded.

"Oh," Elaina said, looking surprised, "hello." She awkwardly held out her hand, which her brother shook with a chuckle.

"I'm glad to finally meet you. I must say, you are suddenly less boring," he said, putting emphasis on _you_.

Elaina chuckled as well, "being assumed dead for several years can do that to a person."

Rikard grinned, "Mother will be so happy to see you!" he exclaimed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and towing her down the hall.

Forcing a nervous laugh, Elaina said, "Let's hope so."

* * *

**_ya...so...i totally just realized that the name Danall sounds a lot like the name of hte other vegitarian coven in the Twilight series. i thought of hte name before reading the books, and had no clue of it until now. Also, i admit that for some reason, the name Jaden Korr, which i first heard in a Star Wars XBOX game, stuck in my head for two years before i began to write this story. haha...things you think up when your tired...lol...reviews are appreciated. JG_**


	37. A Walk With Rikard

**_hey, sorry its so short. but people were askin for another chapter and i was kinda unsure of how to proceed. So, here it is, and the next chapter will be longer, i promise!_**

* * *

Marchette followed behind Elaina and Rikard at great enough distance to allow her the feeling of solitude but still being close enough to pull her to the ground in the case of an attack. They passed from the boring hallway painted a faded topaz through a great wooden door. The walls were now mahogany inlaid with gold and the carpets were a regal red. This obviously was the personal wing of the Lady de Myra. Elaina's head was swiveling back and forth, and Marchette could tell that she hardly heard a word her brother said.

"Who lives here?" she breathed, cutting Rikard off mid-sentence.

Her brother chuckled and said, "the Pure Bloods of close relation to our mother. As well as esteemed guests." He glanced around, and then pointed to a door to their left. "That leads to our wing; 'us' being Lady de Myra's children. You will find that you have a room there as well," he paused, "Well, that is actually unlikely, as we thought you were dead all these years. But I'm sure you will be placed in comfortable quarters."

"Why haven't the Agents' spies found out about you people," she frowned, "us? Especially when you, we, live so garishly."

"Ah," Rikard said, "I guess you didn't notice the security device in the door frame. Did you Marchette?" he asked, turning to look behind. "No? Good, then its working." He turned his attention back to his sister. "There is a device that reads a being's blood as they pass over the threshold of the door. If the person is human, their genetic code must be entered into the system before they may pass. The device is meant to stop any person who is not a Vampire. All beings how are lower than Half Bloods must have their DNA logged into the computer program, or they too will be unallowed to enter. Pure Bloods may pass through unscathed though."

Elaina frowned, looking alarmed. "What happens to those who are not cleared by the system?"

Rikard opened a door off to their right, which led down a second corridor. "First, a multitude of alarms, both auditory and silent, are triggered. There are security doors that seal the entire corridor so that _nothing_ may enter or leave. Then a motion sensor is activated, which, unfortunately, leaves an area the size of a postage stamp unwatched. Thankfully the grid is mobile. This sensor sweeps from floor to ceiling fifteen times per second, and if anything is in the laser grid, more alarms go off. A knockout gas is then pumped through the corridor, rendering any human unconscious in less than six seconds, and incapacitating any Vampire in half a minute. Guards then enter with heavy artillery, a combination of Vampires and humans, and sweep through the entire corridor and hallways that branch off of it. The last time some one got in here, we knew where they were within seven seconds."

Elaina whistled, impressed. "You guys don't leave much up to chance, do you?"

Marchette leaned forward and said softly, "Madam, any compound that houses a large number of Pure Bloods employs such security measures. We do it for our protection. If the Agents were to learn of us, the consequences would be dire."

Elaina nodded, looking thoughtful, but said nothing more, remaining silent as Rikard led them down another hallway, pausing at the door at the very end. As he raised his hand to knock, a rather nervous looking man jerked the door open. His wild and frightened eyes, flicked between them, and he said in a quick and breathless voice "Wait for a time, if you please. The Lady is not quite ready to see you. Perhaps tomorrow would be a better time?" By the look of his face, he was seriously implying that tomorrow _was_ a good idea.

Before Elaina could suggest that perhaps they _should _wait, Rikard glared at the man saying coldly, "You insult us, Adam, to suggest that the children of The Lady may not see her. Especially when ordered to come straight to her once her long awaited daughter had returned from her protective exile." He raised an eyebrow, "Perhaps you'd better explain to The Lady why _tomorrow_ was a better time for a reunion with her daughter."

The man blanched, a look of horror crossing his face. "My lord," he stammered, "The Lady had ordered me not to disturb her. I meant no offence! Honest!"

Rikard smirked, "The Lady would be very upset if she learned that you treated her long lost daughter as you would a _disturbance_. Obviously The Lady meant she didn't want to see little mutant _humans_, like yourself." He grinned arrogantly, "Us of the upper-echelon are hardly considered _disturbances_."

The man seemed to have shrunk and he looked ready to cry. He nodded weakly, saying, "Come with me," and he lead them through the door, shutting it wordlessly behind them, flinching away when he met Elaina's eye.

When Marchette noticed Elaina staring at the man's behavior, he leaned forward and whispered so only she'd hear, "The Pure Bloods must remain in control of the others. Many tend to do it with much more tact. Rikard is not one of those people, as you can see. Do not let it disturb you. You are royalty. You are expected to flex the muscles of your authority sometimes."

Elaina gave him a piercing look and hissed back just as quietly, "There's showing authority, and then there's making a person garbage. I refuse to do such a thing."

Marchette smirked slightly and nodded murmuring "Of course, madam."

She glared at him one last time as they were led through a set of massive doors.


	38. Meet the Myras

_**dunno how long until the next chapter...sorry**_

Lady Satine Myra had been ruler of the League de Myra for four hundred and thirty-eight years. She'd had to wait for three hundred and twelve years for her father to die so she could take power. Those years made her hard and cold, a woman who was quick to anger but slow to show it. She'd had twenty-six children, all but one of whom also had children. Only seven of these children were born within the Leauge de Myra, meaning they were not born to form some alliance. Her first child, she had when she was thirty-nine, was to renew an alliance between the League de Myra and the League of Danall. When the child was sixteen, and Awoken, the Danall broke the treaty, and murdered Satine's firstborn. Devastated, she swore she would never allow herself to have another child of state. Her next two children were born out of lust rather than duty. Her father was very unimpressed. Lord Myra denounced them and refused to acknowledge them as his grandchildren. He also threatened to disown his daughter, should she refuse another child of state. Reluctantly, Satine acquiesced, and in the next hundred years she had six children. Satine never had another Danalli child though. Lord Myra was furious at the Danall's betrayal, and instead forged an alliance with the powerful Danalli enemy, the League of Nichelle. Satine's thirteenth and fourteenth children, twins, were born to Marcus Nichelle, the Lord Nichelle's second son.

When Satine took power of the League de Myra, the first child she had after, her sixteenth, was with Zachariah Nichelle. Unfortunatly, Agents shot the boy's plane down when he was in his late forties. To repair damage, another child was born to Satine's son and Zachariah's daughter. Satine and her children had eight more children with the Nichelle's, four of which were Satine's. There was only one Nichelle child left now; her name was Elaina.

Satine was what was refered to when one referenced a beautiful woman. She had gold blond hair and cobalt blue eyes. Her body was curved in the right places and small in others. She was a goddess and knew it. She used her beauty to hold a man's attention and bend him to her will, and to intimidate a woman to force her into submission. All her children were blessed with beauty and she could see her youngest daughter was no exception when she first laid eyes on her.

Elaina was perhaps the closest looking daughter to herself. But there was no mistaking her Nichelle heritage. Where Satine's colouring was light, Elaina's was dark. Even Elaina's skin tone was darker. But they were mirror images of each other, that much was apparent. Satine could tell this unnerved the girl, already apprehensive about meeting her mother, to see her own reflection greeting her.

Previous to her daughter's entrance, Satine had been fuming over the loss of a great portion of territory to the Organization. One of her sons had been lost as well, causing her grief as well as anger. When she'd had to endure the presence of the little Korr brat, she'd been furious. She'd greatly disliked being separated from her baby, but it turned out for the better. Now, the child she'd not seen since her birth stood before her, a proud young woman of nineteen. Elaina would do well in the world, if Satine had anything to do with it.

"Elaina, darling," she opened her arms to the nervous child, "I've missed you so!" She enfolded the girl in her arms, who clung to her in an almost desperate manner. When the awkward hug was done, Satine held the girl at arms length and said, "my goodness you've changed. But I guess that is to be expected. The last time I saw you, you were a squalling babe."

Elaina attempted a smile. It looked rather forced. "I'm glad I finally get to meet you," she fumbled, "mother." Her voice was a little off pitch, like she was bottling up some strong emotion.

Satine smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "Don't worry dear, with time it will seem all the more natural. I expect you'll adapt to our way of life quite well." She turned to Rikard, her twenty-first child, and suggested "why don't you take your sister to the guest wing and make her comfortable. I wish to speak alone with Nikoli here." She looked back to Elaina who suddenly had a dreading expression and reassured her, "Don't worry Elaina. You'll have your lover boy back soon enough. Now go with your brother and I'll check in on you later." She hugged the girl and turned to Marchette.

When she'd left Marchette snorted, "She won't like the lover boy comment."

"Why ever not?" Satine asked innocently, raising an eyebrow.

Marchette gave her a pointed look, "She chose me as a bodyguard, not a _lover boy_. To say such things in inappropriate and could get me shot. Besides, it would be Kegan not I who could be her _lover boy_. He's the older of us twins."

Satine smirked. "Do I hear a hint of jealousy, young Nikoli?"

Marchette laughed humorlessly, "Madam, you have no comprehension of what it is like to be _the younger twin_. If you forgive my forwardness, I believe it tactless to jest of what you do not understand."

Lady de Myra smirked again. "Forgive me," she crooned sarcastically. She sat down behind her desk and waved him to the seat in front. "Tell me," she began, "Why are you here? We found out an hour ago you were coming. A little more notice would have been more considerate."

As he took his seat, Marchette bowed his head in resignation. "Forgive me madam. Our plans went awry. The original mandate was to fly her to Cordalla immediately, but we ran into one of her Agent friends. We couldn't implicate the Nichelle, so we flew over the Danall city of Malsurh. I am terribly sorry to inconvenience you madam, but I was only thinking of your daughter's safety. I figured it best to get to a family member, but too many planes flying into Coralla with Nichelles onboard was a risk. If you wish, we can leave as soon as the sun sets."

Satine flapped her hand at him, "don't be absurd. She was going to meet us anyways, so, no time like the present. I am rather hurt though, that I did not receive word of her Awakening. I was under the impression that Zachariah wanted to wait until she was twenty one."

With a nod, Marchette answered, "That was the plan madam. We, in fact, only learned of her Awakening the night-before-last. It seems that the ruse that was her identity worked so well that she was captured and _Turned_ by Alexander Tsar, and his right hand man, James. Now, Tsar was Turned by Louis Nichelle, Zachariah's Half-Blood brother, and Tsar turned James; therefore both are of Zachariah's bloodline, and therefore, were able to unknowingly Awaken Miss Nichelle."

"Interesting," Elaina's mother said, her lips pursed, as she nodded her head. "She showed no signs of Blood Rage though?"

Marchette shrugged. "I wouldn't exactly know, but I'm guessing nothing very intense until she wished to exact revenge on one Liam Neskab."

Satine frowned, "What does the Neskab boy have to do with anything?"

Clearing his throat awkwardly, not too happy about having to be the one to tell her, Marchette told her in a rushed manner, "LiamNeskabrapedyourdaughter, ma'am."

"_What_?" she roar, slamming her fist on the desk, denting the hardwood, as she lurched to her feet. "He did _what_?"

"Raped her, madam," Marchette said, wishing he could sink into his seat.

Satine swore loudly and began pacing behind her desk. She was fuming, wringing her hands and muttering under her breath. Suddenly, she froze and turned to Marchette, "Is there any chance he could have gotten her pregnant?" Her eyes were wide with panic.

Marchette furiously shook his head, "No ma'am," he assured her. "Elaina's not due for a Time of Fertility until the second week of March."

With a sigh of relief, Satine sunk back into her chair, and clutched her head as her elbow was propped on the armrest. "Thank god," she murmered, "one piece of good news. At least her first child won't be to that horrid boy." She shook her head, and then looked up at Marchette and said with a stronger, more authoritative voice, "I trust Zachariah has dealt with the incident accordingly?"

Nodding Marchette affirmed, "He's been sent to the Blood farms, and shall have both his genitals and hands removed, without blood supplements." To reassure Satine, he added, "Your daughter thinks this a fitting punishment."

"Hmph," Satine answered, crossing her arms. Then she sighed, "Zachariah's going to have a time convincing the Neskabs of what happened. You watch, that Allison Reich will be protesting at what an angel her 'ittle 'Iam is; that its preposterous that he'd lay hands on a woman without permission. Mark my words, some poor Nichelle girl is going to have to have a child with a Neskab; most likely the older brother. At least his reputation is better. But I'd be willing to bet that ol' Allison will be harking for Liam's release by the end of the day. Hmph."

"Well," Marchette said, "at least that James fellow of his will get some peace out of it." To answer Satine's questioning look, he added, "Apparently Liam set himself upon his wife, Annabelle I think was the name. I don't know the details, but supposedly Liam raped and killed the girl."

Satine stared in disbelief. "Why would he do that to his own blood? That's just heartless!"

Shrugging, Marchette answered, "How are we to know what goes on in his twisted little brain? At least he has finally been brought to judgment, and has been stopped. If only for a short time."

For a moment, the two sat in silence, which was broken when Satine asked, "When do you deem it safe for departure?"

* * *

Walking down the hallway to the living quarters of the Myra children was an interesting experience. Every few doors would open as they walked past, and a different person would emerge and say hello. Elaina met a total of thirteen brothers and sisters, and there were apparently more in other parts of the world. It seemed that her mother had produced a total of twenty-six children, her being the last, and there were twenty surviving still. Wait, nineteen, word just in tonight. She already had forgotten most of the names she'd been told. There was a Katharine, Caitlyn, Kevin, Jason, Sarah, Michael, Michelle, Tamara, Tara (those two were twins), Jack, Joseph, Norah, and, of course, Rikard. She remembered the names at least, but the only names she could fit to faces were Tamara and Tara, and that was only because they looked exactly the same! By the time they reached the suite designated for Elaina, she was exhausted.

She bid her brother good day, begging for some time alone. _A bubble bath is what I need_ was her first thoughts as she closed her door behind her. She took two steps away from the door when there was a frantic knocking. With an ill-stifled groan and much eye rolling, Elaina trudged back to open the door with a semi-polite, "Yes?"

Rikard stood there with a smile and said, "I just wanted to tell you that only you have the key to the room, besides your bodyguard. So if there's someone in your room, you invited them, or he did."

Elaina nodded tiredly, "Cool. Is that all?"

He smiled wider. "Yeah. Its great to finally meet you, little sister." He clapped her on the shoulder and moved so she could shut the door.

Elaina yawned widely as she moved deeper into the room. This place was massive. It had a sort of sitting room just inside the door, then branching off that was a beautifully furnished office and a magnificent bedroom with luxurious on-suite. The bathtub was big enough for three people to stretch out completely in, as well as having many jets and bubbling features. She'd enjoy this bubble bath, she observed.

And enjoy it she did. Soon the room was full of steam and the scent of roses, the only sound being the hum of the jets. Elaina was completely relaxed when a soft knock was heard at the door.

"Miss Nichelle?" It was Marchette.

Elaina sighed. She'd wanted to relax, and getting out of this tub would _un_-relax her. "Come in, but keep your eyes closed," she called, "I'm in the tub, and not getting out any time soon!"

The door slowly opened and Elaina instinctively sunk deeper into the bubbles. Granted, with all the bubbles and the jets running, her body was already fairly covered, but she was grateful when her bodyguard closed the door behind him and sat in the little alcove where the toilet was, around a corner from the tub. She was completely unseen, and would remain so unless the bodyguard craned his neck around said corner.

"What's the news, Marchette?" Elaina asked, toying with some of the bubbles.

Her bodyguard cleared his throat, "I've spoken with both your parents, and your mother would like to spend a little time with you, but your father wants you home quickly."

"Understandable," Elaina remarked. "Go on."

"The plan is that we leave two nights from tonight, first flying to Haljhir, where we'll be meeting your father, then to Cordalla with him," Marchette informed her.

"What's in Haljhir?" Elaina enquired. Marchette cleared his throat again. _What the hell is making him so nervous_? Elaina wondered.

"It is not a question of _what_ is in Haljhir, but _who_."

Rolling her eyes, Elaina patiently said, "Fine then. _Who_ is in Haljhir?"

Again, Marchette cleared his throat. "Haljhir is run by the Neskab family, a sub-family of the League of Nichelle. They are highly influential and are rather angry at the current situation in Venisa."

"We're going to make peace, are we?" Elaina asked.

"In a word, yes," Marchette replied, "but that's not the whole of it."

With an annoyed sigh, Elaina snapped, "Speak then, and tell me the truth!"

There was a pause, and Marchette, once more, cleared his throat. He took a deep breath and said, "Your father is considering a contract to ease the tension between the Nichelle family and the Neskab family by committing his daughter to have a child with a Neskab."

"Ok," Elaina said, "I don't see why you're so freaked out, it'll obviously be one of my sisters who do it. Duh!"

"Well," he trailed off, "As a matter of fact, Elaina, the last of your sisters were killed off three months ago. It would be _you_ who'd have to bear the child."

"What?" she shrieked, forgetting herself and lurching out of the tub, splashing water everywhere. She yanked the startled Marchette to his feet and grabbed his chin, forcing him to meet her eyes. "Tell me you're lying, tell me!" she ordered, her voice shaking with rage and panic.

Marchette closed his eyes and tried to free himself. Elaina tightened her grip and shook him. "You're lying," she snarled, "Admit it!"

"No madam," he said quietly, remorsefully, opening his eyes. "Every word of it is true."


	39. Encounters with Norah and Mary

_**heyhey, sorry it took so long to get this done. but don't worry, i got the beginning and the end of the next chapter written, so all i need to do is write the bridge. thank you for waiting so long. enjoy...reveiw**_

* * *

There was dead silence. The only sound was the hum of the jets from the abandoned tub and Elaina's harsh breathing. Marchette held absolutely still. The placement of her hand, should it shift slightly lower, could slice open his throat in an instant. In her state of rage, he wouldn't put it past her to do it. The injury he'd sustain wouldn't be mortal, but rather painfully inconvenient. By the way she was staring at him, she must have thought that going without blinking while glaring into his eyes would reverse time and change the course of history.

Marchette thought it best not to shift his eyes as well. Apparently, his charge had no trouble being completely nude, for this was his second encounter with her in such a manner in as many days; this made things awkward, as he often looked at the ground when he addressed his mistress or, he'd look straight at her. In his current position, looking down meant ogling her breasts, and lower; were they not inches apart, looking straight at her would involve the same predicament.

After an eternity of scrutiny, Elaina apparently realized Marchette was useless for changing past events, so she gritted her teeth and with a soft snarl, jerked his chin so the side of his head made contact with the wall. She then turned away and left the room, still, completely nude. Rubbing his slightly stinging head, Marchette followed his ward from the bathroom into the master bedroom. From his position, Elaina was hidden behind the massive door to the wardrobe she was rifling through. _Good_, he thought, _she's putting on clothes. She's remembered herself. She's calmed down. That'll make my job a hell of a lot simpler_. He stood patiently, waiting for his mistress to finish dressing. He was rather shocked though when she slammed the wardrobe door so hard, a large crack slithered its way through the wood.

"Why?" she asked violently, flinging herself around to face her bodyguard.

Taken aback by her sudden outburst, Marchette foolishly asked, "Why, what?"

Slowly approaching him, she spat through clenched teeth, "Why do I have to _fuck _a Neskab?"

Marchette stood his ground, looking straight ahead. "It is for the good of your family, madam."

"My family?" she snarled. "A group of people to whom I have no loyalty or had any knowledge of until two days ago? That family?"

Marchette shook his head, "you're something else," he commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped.

Marchette gave her a cold look. "After all they've done for you, keeping you safe all these years, this is how you repay them. Balking when they ask you to do a small deed for them. I guess it shows what a weakling you are." He shook his head, "I had no clue that one of Zachariah Nichelle's children could be such a coward."

"Coward," she snarled. "I'm not afraid"

She was cut off before she could say anything more. "Yes, _coward_! Who else would be so petty as to become so upset over such a trivial matter."

"Trivial!" Elaina sputtered, "This is hardly a trivial matter. You're expecting me to have a baby with a man I've never met before. Who is the brother of the man who _raped me_. How in _god's name_ is it unreasonable that I be a _little _upset?"

Marchette took a step towards her. "Everyday, in every city, there are people who have never met before that sleep with each other. Sometimes children result as a product of that union; sometimes not. As will be the case with you and the Neskab. It would just be _better_ for you if a child _were _conceived."

She looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"The Neskabs are pissed that you had Liam sent away for rape," Marchette explained. "They say that _you_ are lying,; and threaten to break away from the League. If htat happenes, not only will the League basically be ripped in two, as the Neskabs are the larges family of Pure Bloods in the League, besides the Nichelle. Their first move would be to kill off all of Zachariah's and Jordan's close female desendants."

Elaina frowned, "Why? Who's Jordan?"

Marchette rolled his eyes, "Your brother, who is your father's heir. The females would be killed so Zachariah and Jordan can't make alliances," Elaina looked confused. Marchette added, "The best alliance is made with the birth of two children. One to be raised by each side."

"So if I were to refuse the thing with the Neskab…" she trailed off.

"You would be the catalyst of ripping apart the League and sealing your own doom," Marchette finished for her.

Elaina's face crumbled as she slumped down on her bed, holding her face in her hands. "I hate you people," she muttered into her palms. Looking up, a weary look on her face, she asked, "How long do I have?"

The answer was, "Your first Time of Fertility will be in the second week of March. Actually it comes at a perfect time. It falls on the twenty-year anniversary of your conception, therefore that entire week you'll be Fertile."

"Goodie!" she said with dreary sarcasm.

"No, no, that's a good thing," Marchette assured her as he sat next to her on the bed. "If I'm not mistaken, there are two or three Neskabs who will be in their Time of Virility during that week, which means you, in a way, get the _choose _the father."  
"Goodie!" she repeated, with the same level of sarcasm. She rolled her eyes and got off the bed in time to hear a knock at the door. She groaned softly, she sunk back onto the bed, motioning for Marchette to answer it.

He smiled slightly and clapped her on the shoulder, before becoming the stern bodyguard who answered the door.

A nervous looking blonde stood on the other side of the threshold. She was obviously a Myra. "Is everything alright?" she asked. "I heard shouting." Her eyes flicked into the room and saw through the open bedroom door, his mistress, slumped on the bed. She slipped past the bodyguard and moved to the bedroom door. Addressing the other woman directly, she asked, "Are you alright, Elaina?"

The young Nichelle started at the sound of her name and looked up, confused. "I'm fine," she replied, warily. "Who are you?"

The blonde broke into a grin. "I'm your sister, silly!" she exclaimed happily. "We met in the hall, like, an hour ago!"

Still looking lost, Elaina answered, "Right." Her eyes flicked to the roof as she struggled to remember the blonde's name. "Michelle?"

The woman smiled and corrected, "Norah."

Elaina tried to look bashful, "Sorry."

Norah flapped her hand and said, "Don't worry about it. I am so terrible at names, I'm surprised I remembered yours!" She giggled, a quality that Marchette was not exactly fond of, "I'm sure we'll be the closest of sisters!" She squealed and clapped her hands rapidly, jumping up and down.

Marchette shot a quick glance at his charge as he approached the bedroom door. The expression on her face was a mixture of being disturbed and amused. Elaina gave a rather sarcastic and forced smile, but her sister seemed to miss the lack of joy, so Norah bounded over and plunked herself down next to the woman, who moments before had been very tempted to murder the next thing that breathed too loudly. Completely oblivious, Norah wrapped an arm around Elaina's shoulders and began half bouncing on the bed, a silly grin plastered on her face.

"Ooh!" Norah suddenly exclaimed, "We should go do something!" She was nodding emphatically to get her point across, the grin still in place. "We could go shopping, or to a party! What do you think?"

For the first time, she actually turned to Elaina and gave her sister her full attention. Elaina was had a blank, stunned, dazed look on her face as she tried to process her sister's outburst. She blinked a few times and said uncertainly, "sure."

Marchette suddenly remembered who Norah was. She was a notorious party-girl who often brought the Pure Blood's exposure close to reality. It wouldn't be good for his charge to follow her sister's advantage. Perhaps if it were Tara, Tamara or Caitlyn suggesting that they go out, he would feel less apprehensive. He felt he must act quickly. Clearing his throat loudly, he got Norah's attention, "Miss Myra -- "

"Halding-Myra," Norah interrupted offhandedly. "I am Norah _Halding_-Myra."

Unseen to her, Elaina rolled her eyes. Smiling slightly at that, Marchette continued, "_Miss Halding-Myra_, I do believe that Elaina leaving the safety of the Myra Pure Blood Safe house is not a good idea. It would be better altogether if she stayed here."

"Oh," Norah pouted, "Why's that?"

Quickly thinking Marchette supplied, "There was an attack on Elaina's life enroute to Nephrita. She was quite traumatized." Norah shot her sister a look. Elaina managed a wide-eyed nod with eye filled with terror just in time. "As you can see, she is quite unnerved. Perhaps it would be best if she could have the day to herself and perhaps make plans for tonight, when more of her siblings could meet with her, _within_ the Safe house."

Norah looked a little disappointed, but perked up almost instantly after a moment's thought. "Alright," she said brightly, "I'll organize a party!" She said it as if it were the best idea in the world. "I'll get everyone together and you can meet them all!" Her grin reappeared and she jumped, which is a small understatement, to her feet. "Ooh! This is going to be so much fun. I'll see you later Elaina!" She grinned, waved, and skipped out of the room.

Elaina shot her bodyguard a death glare as soon as her sister had shut the door behind her. "_A party_," she stated, annoyance adding an edge to her voice. "Why in god's name would you think I would want to go to a _party_?"

Marchette shrugged weakly. "Sorry," he apologized. "But it's better you go to a party with your siblings than go out on your own, in daylight, with your crazy sister, Norah."

The woman smirked and asked bemused, "Crazy?" Her smirk widened, "I noticed nothing wrong with her."

Catching the ill-disguised sarcasm in Elaina's comment, Marchette smiled and said, "Norah is rather careless when it comes to safety. In fact, she's a security nightmare! A complete party-girl who will freak out if things aren't going her way. She also is a big mouth. If ever there was an unknowing Agent informant, it'd be her. Things tend to just drop out of her mouth, as you can see."

Elaina chucked, knowing exactly what he was talking about. After a moment though she grew somber, "If I'm to be pleasant, I am going to need some time to be _un_pleasant. So if you please," she gestured towards the door, "I need a little _me_ time."

Bowing, knowing it was time to step aside, Marchette said, "of course, Madam."

As Elaina followed him to the door she said, "I want no disruptions."

At the bedroom door, Marchette turned, grasped the knob and replied, "I will come to you at nightfall. Until then, I shall see to it that you are left undisturbed." He pulled the door shut behind him.

For a moment Elaina stood in the middle of her room, vaguely listening to the hum of the jets that she's left on, and to her bodyguard's retreating footsteps. Next she began to pace the room, wringing her hands and muttering murderously. She allowed her earlier semi-contained fury to well up and fill her, making her blood sizzle and skin burn. Hot rage consumed her so powerfully that she was forced to cease her pacing to stop the quaking that threatened to completely incapacitate her. When she'd finally stilled her furious trembling, she stood in the middle of her room again, breathing heavily, attempting to repress the flood she'd let loose.

After a time, she was breathing at a reasonable level and she could see straight. She lay down on the bed to think, her anger still audible, but now she was at least coherent. She went over every scrap of information she'd been forced to absorb and analyzed it, picking it apart and justifying it. Slowly, seething anger fizzled out and became a still calm. The torrential storm that her anger had been was now steady droplets of calm rain. It was present, but unthreatening. She had finally regained her senses. She could think.

Sometime in her musings, she must have fallen asleep because she awoke with a start as a soft knock sounded on the door. Slowly it opened and Marchette stuck his head in cautiously, "Madam, its sunset. Your sister will be arriving in about an hour to bring you to your party."

Rolling of the bed where she'd been so comfortably resting, Elaina trudged to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She noticed the jets were _still_ on in the tub. Feeling foolish, she shut them off quickly. A twenty-minute shower passed, and she climbed out, drenched but feeling a little better.

She opened the door into the bedroom and strode out in a robe, stopping dead when she noticed a person rifling through her wardrobe. As quietly as she could, Elaina crept into the room and peered out the open bedroom door. Marchette was sitting on the couch just outside, reading a book. Carefully, she stole through the door.

Seeing the motion of his charge stealing from her room, he glanced up and hurriedly got to his feet, casting the book aside. With a nod of his head he said, "Madam, how may I be of service?" He frowned at Elaina's frantic motions for him to stay quiet.

The woman from the bedroom emerged and asked incredulously, "How in the bloody hell did you get out here? I swear I didn't hear you after you got out of the shower."

Less suspiciously than she actually was, Elaina asked, "Who are you?"

"Oh," the woman gushed, "I'm your great niece, Margaret. But I like to be called Mary." She grinned, "Grandmother said to come help you find something to wear for the party." She gestured back to the bedroom, "I brought some of my own stuff too. The stuff you have here is just hand-me-downs. I got some quality stuff that actually may fit you."

A little taken aback Elaina answered with a simple, "Alright." And followed her great-niece-Margaret-who-liked-to-be-called-Mary into the bedroom. Marchette moved to follow them in, but Mary shut the door in his face, not before giving him a stern look though.

For a good half hour, he sat on the couch again, reading and catching snatches of the conversation in the next room. His favorite piece came from Mary, "My god, you have gorgeous boobs!" she exclaimed.

Marchette had to rely heavily on his training not to first, burst out laughing, or, second, go charging into the bedroom. He was more than certain that his mistress would be displeased with either reaction. So he had to be contented with waiting to see her. When she emerged, he was hardly disappointed.

"How do I look?" she asked, apprehensively, ghosting through the door, moving silently but for the click of her shoes on the hardwood. She held up her hands slightly and turned around slowly. She was a vision in crimson. The dress she wore hugged her body but the skirt was lose and was of such a light material, that it _whooshed_ as she turned. Her shoes were the exact color as the dress; very high heeled pumps that made her legs a mile long. The makeup she wore caused her features to pop, her lips a bright cherry and her eyes seductively shadowed. Her chocolate locks were lose, curling playfully at the ends, teasingly drawing the eyes to her neck, collar and lower. If one word was asked to describe her, it'd be _dazing_. Just seeing her, Marchette could barely keep his wits. He pitied the fools who'd dare to make a pass at his charge tonight. First they'd have to deal with _him_; then with _her_.

He just gaped at her, finally coming up with a coherent way to describe to her how she looked without sounding entirely perverted, "You look amazing, Madam! I've never seen anyone so stunning!" He meant it. The only thing that came to mind was looking at the pictures that humans had in their magazines, before The Rise, of film stars and musicians, and people who really did nothing, where the beautiful people were immortalized and computer enhanced to make them more so. Elaina grinned sheepishly and looked away, shyly thanking him.

Mary emerged from the bedroom, unnoticed, a knowing grin on her face as she looked from Elaina to Marchette. Still smiling, she audibly cleared her throat. Both Elaina's and Marchette's heads snapped in her direction. "If you two don't mind," she said, "I'm going to go get ready myself. Apparently Grandmother wants me set up with someone going tonight. I want to make a good impression." She bowed slightly and left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

"I thought this was just a family thing. I don't see why I have to get so dressed up," Elaina said, a little peeved.

Marchette smiled apologetically. "When a Pure Blood says _family_, it usually means any Pure Blood in the area. They are _family_." He shrugged, "Besides, wouldn't you rather one large meeting of all your maternal associates, than a bunch of small ones?"

Elaina twisted the corner of her mouth wryly. "I guess you have a point." With a sigh, she asked, "I have to do this too much, do I?"

"Sorry," the bodyguard said, "but yes. If you like, we can stay a few hours, meet the important Myras, and associates, then come back here. Once they see you, they'll know who you are, and all anyone will be concerned with is you knowing _them_. But being so young, they won't hold a grudge if you don't actually learn their names for a few years."

Elaina nodded. "Ok," she said, with a gusty sigh. "Are you wanting to get ready?" she asked. "You can use the bedroom."

"I'm alright," Marchette replied. "Kegan came over earlier, while you were asleep, and he helped me set up the other room in the suite."

Elaina frowned. "What room?"

He smiled and walked over towards the door into the office. He paused at the panel beside door and, gripping a bit of the trim, slid the panel back to reveal a hidden room. It was plain enough, with a bed, desk, phone, armoire, and lamps. "This is the bodyguard's quarters," he explained, when Elaina gave him a look of utter confusion. "It would be strange for a supposedly invisible individual to have his own bedroom. So, these hidden rooms are built so that the guarded are not disturbed by the sight and habits of their guard, and to throw off anyone who may break in that this person _has_ protection."

Elaina nodded as Marchette slid the panel shut again. "So you're going to be here all the time?"

"No," he corrected, "I'm going to be _with you_ all the time." Her face fell. "It's for your protection, madam, I assure you!" he insisted.

"I know," she said in quiet resignation. Their conversation lapsed into an awkward silence that was broken by a knock at the door.

Marchette rushed to it and opened it silently. Standing outside was Norah, wearing a very short electric blue dress and very high heels. Her blond hair was pin straight and her bangs hung in her face in an alluring fashion. She rushed into the room when she saw her sister, completely brushing past the bodyguard. "Oh my god, Elaina!" she squealed. "You look, like, so amazing. You, like, have no idea! Like, oh my god!" She gripped Elaina's forearms and was jumping (well, bouncing, her shoes made jumping impossible) up and down.

A little thrown by the sudden and enthusiastic greeting, Elaina said, "Uh, thanks Norah," in a rather flat and confused voice.

"Was Mary enough help?" Norah asked. She smiled widely when Elaina nodded, and said, "Oh good." She looked Marchette up and down appraisingly, before adding, "You don't look so bad yourself, Nikoli," in an outrageously flirty voice. For some reason, the way Norah was talking to her bodyguard annoyed her, though why, Elaina could not understand. With a more appropriate and authoritative tone, Norah said, "Now, because so many people are coming to our get together, we're instead going to a small club."

Marchette folded his arms. "Norah," he sounded forbidding, "I told you that I did not want Miss Nichelle removed from the compound premises. It could be very dangerous for her to leave."

Norah rolled her eyes. "She was in danger in _Venisa_ because that was a city controlled by The Organization. They have no presence here. Besides, the club is a five-minute walk away. To make you feel better, I've arranged for cars with a motorcycle escort." Rolling her eyes again, she asked, "Happy now?"

Marchette narrowed his eyes. "I don't like this plan. It's still fairly risky. I hear all the time about spies who get into the city. They wreak havoc then disappear. If Elaina is caught in any sort of crossfire, it's more than just _my _ass on the line."

Elaina's eyes were flitting from her bodyguard, to her sister, to her bodyguard again. Both sides of the argument sounded reasonable enough. She felt it was time to speak up, "Stop being silly, Marchette," she said sharply. "Its not like I'm any sort of weakling. I _am_ capable to taking care of myself. I've managed on my own for a while now. I'm not a completely useless person who needs to be coddled." She shrugged, "if you _really_ feel _so_ worried, put a tracking node on me and give me a gun." She folded her arms over her chest and imitated the stubborn look on her bodyguard's face.

Marchette sighed. "Very well. I don't like the idea, but if you wish to go, madam, I shall accompany you." He extended his arm with a bow. Rolling her eyes, Elaina accepted it, allowing her sister to lead them to the parking garage.


	40. Pure Party Animals

_**Hey, this may be my last for a while. exams are soon. i hope that this chapter is alright. towards the end i get into a bit up "uncharted territory." (AKA an area where i have NO experience.) haha. i hope it sounds convincing and not just creepy or pathetic. haha. anyhoo...enjoy for the next little while. thank you!**_

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When they reached the parking garage, there was a flurry of activity happening around them. There Pure Bloods and Half Bloods and the Turned standing around as harassed looking Faithfuls scurried to a fro, sorting out travel details. A rather harried looking man rushed up to them, practically tripping over his feet to stop and bow at a respectful distance, asking in a rushed voice, "Have you made arrangements?"

Norah gave him a cool look, her blond bimbo-ness seeming to melt away as authority settled on her shoulders. She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "There isn't anything available?" she asked in a calm manner, but the edge in her voice was tangible. "Do you not know who we are?" she gestured to herself and Elaina. It was at that moment that Rikard appeared, as if on cue, at Elaina's side. The two true Myras looked very intimidating.

The Faithful looked as if he was having a heart attack, the blood drained from his face so quickly. He apparently _did_ know who they were, for he instantly began falling-over himself to apologize. Marchette listened halfheartedly. The man was saying something about how there were no drivers or escorts left at the moment. After having enough of his babble, Marchette cut in. "If it's a driver that's required, I'll do it."

The man looked half-relieved. "If you wanted to wait ten minutes sir," the Faithful assure him, "you wouldn't have to put yourself through the hassle."

Marchette rolled his eyes. "Its no hassle." He took Elaina lightly by the wrist and steered her towards an empty SUV. As he helped her in, he turned to Norah and Rikard, asking "Are you two coming?"

Norah sighed, as if she'd been put through a great inconvenience, but gustily declared she would. Rikard just shrugged turned to the Faithful, saying, "I need a bike."

The Faithful practically fainted with relief. Twelve seconds later, Norah was in the back seat of the SUV with Elaina and Rikard was mounting a motorcycle and was checking his weapons. His eyes met with the Nichelle bodyguard's and he drove off ahead of the SUV.

It only took moments to reach the "small club," as Norah described it. This supposedly small club was actually a warehouse that had been converted into a two-story facility that featured a mosh pit, overlooked by a bar that ran all along the original catwalks. The open section of the ground floor was filled with people. Pure Blood, Half Blood, Turned and humans alike. Marchette was almost overwhelmed by the scent of them. It'd been so long since he'd last fed. Nearly two weeks. The smell of so many humans releasing such strong pheromones was almost unbearable. He could tell, by the way she stiffened by his side that his mistress was under the same distress.

Elaina's eyes briefly rolled half back in her head as she fought off a very powerful urge to rip into the nearest human. This made her guilty, bringing back memories of her friend who'd lain dying on the pavement, exsanguinating from wounds she'd inflicted, less than twenty-four hours before. The thought made her hate herself. But she hid it, forcing the self-loathing deep down, so that she could think straight. She concentrated hard on the faces Norah brought before her. Next she focused intensely in the shot glass that was placed in front of her.

It was blood red. She could smell the blood in it. But there was something more; the smell of strong alcohol also wafted off. Making a slight face, she gingerly picked up the glass and drained it. The liquor burned her throat and she coughed violently. A hand pounded her back, ineffectually. Eventually, she calmed herself, or at least calm her self as much as possible. The blood and alcohol had set her nerves on fire, but it soon faded to a slight, warm tingle. She panted heavily as her Blood Lust flared then slowly receded.

The man who'd initially offered her the drink, a nephew or great-nephew, asked, "You like?"

All Elaina could do was nod emphatically. For a moment or so, she'd forgotten her guilt for killing her friend, and for wanting to kill again. She wanted to forget more. So much more.

The nephew-or-great-nephew grinned. "Want another?" he teased, holding up a second drink, barely out of Elaina's reach.

Elaina glared when he jerked the glass farther out of reach when she extended her hand for it. The nephew-or-great-nephew laughed and handed her the shot. She downed it in a second. As she came down from the high of the second shot, a man, a Pure Blood, who was apparently the father of one of Elaina's nieces, came over to ask for a dance.

The night continued on in such a fashion. She'd dance with some guy, leave the dance floor, return to the bar, where her bodyguard had been watching from, and have another drink. After a time, a new man would approach her. He'd order her a new drink and ask her out to dance. She'd dance for a while, then return to the spot at the bar beside her bodyguard. By the time Marchette practically dragged her out of the club, she'd made out with three men for no reason (the last one she was actually leaving with) and felt fairly numb. To speak required effort and she felt heavy. There was one bonus though. She couldn't think. If she couldn't think, she couldn't remember, then she didn't feel guilty or depressed.

By the time they'd reached the street outside the warehouse, Elaina found her senses were on overdrive. A human walked past too closely, kicking up a draft of his scent. She turned, instantaneous blood lust taking control of her, and she moved to strike. She would have been able to reach him if Marchette hadn't seized her arm in an iron grip and jerked her in the opposite direction. She snarled at him tried to free herself.

The bodyguard rolled his eyes and dragged her into the shadows of the alley. "Calm down," he hissed, pushing her against the warehouse wall. Elaina just bared her teeth and snarled again. "Calm down," he repeated, shaking her shoulders, causing her head to bump against the wall.

At that moment a human chose to walk past. He saw Marhcette shove Elaina back against the wall once more, in a rather vicious fashion. "Hey," he called, "Are you alright?"

Elaina's attention snapped to him, and she began struggling harder. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but Marchette threw a hand over her mouth and drew a sharp breath when her teeth sunk deep into it. "Yeah," he called back to the idiot, through gritted teeth, glaring at his charge as he forced her jaw open to free his hand. "We're just peachy!"

"I wasn't asking you," the man snapped. "I was making sure that _she _was ok." The idiot did the stupidest thing yet; he started down the alley.

_Shit_! Marchette thought. He glared at his charge over his bleeding hand and hissed, "Say you're fine and I promise I'll make it up to you however you want. But say that _you're fine_."

Elaina raised an eyebrow and gave him a rather devious look, and for a moment Marchette was terrified she'd call the man over. Instead though, she called to him, "I'm fine."

"Alright," the man said, walking away, 'that's all I wanted to hear."

Marchette watched the man go, angling his body so he felt whenever Elaina altered her stance. When he turned back to her, she had a rather suggestive look on her face. "How exactly do you intend to repay me?" She raised a perfect eyebrow. The sultry tone was ruined by the way her words lightly slurred together.

"How do you think?" He asked rhetorically, rolling his eyes. "With blood."

She shrugged and eased out from under his sheltering position. They got to the car with no further incidents. And things were good until they ran into a slight mishap at the parking garage. It appeared that a Faithful had taken a rather nasty fall the day before, and his scabs were only partially sealed. They were still oozing a little. As soon as Elaina got wind of it, she was moving towards him. Marchette, who'd smelled the blood earlier than she had, eased between her and the unfortunate Faithful, and extended his still bleeding hand. Her eyes widened excitedly and she sunk her teeth once more into his already ravaged hand. He only allowed her a moment to drink though, before he jerked his hand away. He then led the way to her rooms.

Marchette knew very well that Elaina was hammered. It was rather obvious by the way she was staggering around. He knew should have been watching her more closely, but he'd forgotten how young she was. He hadn't known this was the first time she'd mixed blood and alcohol, and therefore hadn't warned her of its potency. He wanted to kick himself for his stupidity. He'd stood by and watched her empty shot-glass after shot-glass; and had neglected to remember that a nineteen-year-old would not be able to combat liquor like a ninety-year-old. _Stupid!_ he though viciously, as he caught her stumbling.

They finally reached her door and she leaned against the doorframe as he fumbled for keys. While he did so, he wondered how badly his own mind was affected by alcohol. He'd had several drinks over the course of the night. He could start to feel it now, as the buzz of alcoholic thrill wore off and the hum of Blood Lust set in. The fact that he'd allowed his charge to drink his own blood also drained him of his willpower and strength. It was starting to hurt somewhat. _Stupid_ he thought again.

After much fumbling, he finally got the door open. He turned to help Elaina when he caught her staring at him. There was a strange look on her face, a sort of dreamy stare. He frowned but this look was quickly replaced with an expression of shock as she slowly reached up a hand to caress his face. She whispered his name just before she pressed her lips to his.

For a moment he froze, his mind raced and senses shrieked. A part of him screamed that they were both intoxicated; that she'd regret this later. That he was her _bodyguard_ and this did _not_ fall into the contract, and could very well get him _destroyed_ by Lord Nichelle. A much larger, louder faction of his mind, most likely the drunken one, told the smaller, quieter part to shut up, and pushed it deep into the back of his mind.

It didn't really matter though, because all opposition was destroyed when his mistress whispered, "You owe me," and slid her small, warm tongue into his mouth. His fangs, which had been semi-extended over the past day or so, a result of his Blood Lust, scratched Elaina's tongue, cutting it. Her sweet blood trickled into his mouth, and he lost his mind.

He pressed into her roughly, causing her to stumble back into the doorframe. Moaning slightly in his mouth, Elaina wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Marchette pushed into her mouth with his tongue, and began a battle of sorts within it. He sliced his tongue on her teeth. Blood filled their mouths, running out of their lips and down their chins.

Panting, the girl broke away, whispering huskily, "Perhaps you should come inside." She moved away from the doorframe, into the room. Marchette kicked the door shut as he moved after her. She made it to the bedroom's threshold when he attacked her mouth again, becoming more aroused when she responded with equal fervor. She began to fumble with the buttons of his shirt, as he kneaded her breasts. Frustrated with the slow pace of unbuttoning, Elaina ripped open the shirt, sliding her hands up his back under it. As she did so, Marchette slipped the straps of her dress from her shoulders. They stood a moment, mouths battling again, and then Marchette pulled Elaina's dress over her head.

As he stared at her body, she giggled slightly and unbuttoned his pants, letting them fall to the floor. When her hand brushed over his painfully aroused groin, he groaned and kissed her with further zeal, hooking his shoes off with his toes and stepping out of his pants. He felt her smile against his mouth, and she bit into his lip, her mouth clamping onto his as blood oozed from the wound. He forced her backwards, so she fell onto the bed, but she sat right back up again and began to kiss his chest. Marchette stifled a moan as she ran her lips over his nipples; her hand, unnoticed, was inching lower along his stomach. When she seized his groin through his boxers, he groaned loudly, the volume increasing as she began to rub it roughly. Kneeling on the bed, she was at his eyelevel, and she held his gaze as her hand ran over his erection.

Breathing raggedly, Marchette fumbled with her bra, pulling it off. When he took one of her breasts in his mouth, she gasped, throwing her head back and arching her back, her hand twitched, squeezing his balls. Marchette pushed her down with his head, and she fell back, his mouth still sucking at her tit. He climbed on top of her, kneeling over her, her hand still massaging his groin. Marchette then latched onto her other breast, but slowly, his kisses trailed up her neck. He could hear her ragged breath in his ear, and he felt his fangs slide out fully. Looking to her face, he saw the glazed look in her eye, and how her own fangs protruded over her swollen red lips. He hadn't drunk in so long. Even to check to see if she'd allow it was unbearable. As delicately as he believed he could muster, he bit into the soft flesh at the top of her breasts. Gasping, she ran her hands over his back, digging in her nails when he bit her again. He sucked hard around the skin of the wound, earning himself a very loud groan from Elaina.

Wheezing, she flipped him so that she sat on his hips, grinding into his hard cock through their underwear. That was all she wore. Her amazing shoes and lacy red underwear. When Marchette grunted with his lust, she grinned demonically, her fangs sliding out further, as she leaned forward and sank her teeth into his chest. Groaning he arched his back, crushing his hips into hers.

Withdrawing her lips from his breast, she reached between her legs and caressed his dick. Then, lifting her hips slightly, as she pulled the aching appendage from the confines of his boxers, and she squeezed, hard.

"Oh God," he gasped. His fingers, which had been running through her hair, gripped hard, and he roughly pulled her down to seize her mouth with his. One handedly, he pulled his boxers off the rest of the way, and tried pulling off her underwear as well. When he was unable to, she sat up straighter and did it herself.

Pushing her aggressively, he forced her onto her back, running his hand up her thigh. He grinned when she shuddered. Slowly, he slid his hand onto her crotch, cupping it, sliding it back and forth. She moaned, and squirmed when he inserted a finger into her wetness. "Isn't someone excited?" he remarked, as she gasped for more.

Elaina laughed breathlessly, and grabbed his balls again. "Don't make me wait longer Nikoli," she murmured gustily, kneading his testicles gently, "cause I know that you can't!"

Grinning, Marchette muttering, "of course," as he sat back on his heels, pulling her up into his lap. She hovered above him for a moment, before he seized her hips and pulled her down as he thrust up. She gasped in ecstasy, her back dramatically arching, as he pushed deeper still.


	41. A Taste of Elaina Nichelle

**_Omg, i am so sorry it took so long! i got major writer's-block! i am sorry for making you wait. don't worry, this is a long-ish chapter! I hope you like it. sorry, but the wait for the next one may be just as long. i'll try to be quicker though! enjoy chapter 41! yay!_**

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Elaina awoke in an empty bed, in a room that had the musky odor of sex still clinging in the air. Groggily, she attempted to comprehend her predicament. She couldn't remember much. There had been a lot of alcohol. More than she could ever remember drinking before. "God damn it," she swore in an undertone, furiously punching the mattress. This sort of wake up seemed to be becoming commonplace. First with James and now with…who?

Getting out from under the covers, muttering murderously to herself, she promptly stumbled and nearly fell as soon as she stood up. She was _still_ wearing those ridiculous shoes from the night before. Those, and nothing else. Muttering about how footwear would be the death of her, she yanked the pumps from her feet and seized a robe from the bathroom. After securely knotting it, she opened her bedroom door and found Marchette sitting on the couch, reading the same book from the night before. Well, he wasn't exactly reading. It appeared that he was approximately on the same page as he'd been when she'd last seen him. His overall appearance seemed staged, and the instantaneous getting to his feet gave away his guilt. The way he didn't meet her eye fully suggested he felt remorseful for something. What though?

For lack of anything to say, Elaina asked, "What time is it?"

With a ghost of a relieved expression, Marchette answered promptly, "six o'clock, madam."

"In the morning?"

"Yes." He shrugged a little and as if to explain the time of day, he added, "You've been sleeping a while."

"Right," she said, awkwardly. There was a pause as Elaina tried to word what she'd say next. "What happened last night? Did I…" she trailed off. She tried again. "Was there…" She took a deep breath, "Did anything happen?"

Marchette cleared his throat, "Yes."

Elaina nodded, "Yeah, I kinda guessed as much. Umm…" She was rather embarrassed now. "Was it…" she looked away, "you?"

The bodyguard hung his head and shifted his weight. "Yes."

"I see." An awkward silence stretched between them for many moments. "What happened?" When Marchette made a rather reluctant face, she quickly added, "Beyond the obvious, I mean."

He looked ashamed. "I should have stopped it. There are no excuses that can be made for my dishonorable and ill thought decision. I've failed you, madam. Once we reach Cordalla, you may inform your father that you wish for a new guardian. If you wish to deal out any sort of punishment, I will accept it without question or defiance. I am deeply sorry."

He looked so pathetically remorseful that Elaina just rolled her eyes and said in a rather weak voice, "You've been rehearsing that all night, haven't you?"

A smile twitched in the corner of his mouth. "Well," he said a little sheepishly, "not _all_ night."

She shook her head. "Nikoli, you have to start realizing that I'm _not _my father. I'm not going to murder you for making a mistake. So," she put her hands on her hips, "what really happened?"

He looked away. "I was drunk."

Raising an eyebrow, Elaina asked, "And I wasn't?"

He shook his head. "It was acceptable that you be intoxicated. But I _drank _while I was on the job. Which I shouldn't have. If I'd been sober, I'd have been able to stop us. I assure you, once I've safely got you in Cordalla, I will have another bodyguard assigned to you, and I will personally go before your father and tell him what transpired. I am deeply sorry for disappointing you, madam. I should not have taken advantage of you in such a way." He wasn't even able to brink himself to look at her.

"My father doesn't need to know, Nikoli," Elaina said simply. The man looked up in shocked amazement. "Why does he _need_ to know? No one was hurt, no harm was done."

"You're not going to tell him?" he asked in a suspicious sort of manner, he finally looked at her. His gaze was so piercing, Elaina could feel it searching her soul.

She shook her head, "No." Smiling encouragingly, she added, "People do stupid things all the time, but they don't need to tell the _world_ about it." Laying a hand on Marchette's arm, she squeezed, vowing, "I promise you, I will never tell my father, or anyone else for that matter, what happened here. You have my word."

Though he still looked suspicious, relief crossed his features, making them appear handsome, instead of miserable. "You really mean that, don't you?" he asked, almost in wonderment.

Smiling, Elaina replied, "Yes."

"Oh thank you mistress, thank you!" he breathed, throwing himself at her feet, wrapping his arms around her waist, hugging as hard as he dared.

Elaina was rather embarrassed. She didn't like to deal with emotional people. They unnerved her. Overly emotional people were unpredictable, and they did stupid things. So, to ease the onslaught of awkwardness, she patted him stiffly on the head and said, "Your welcome." The moment seemed to fade, as her bodyguard collected himself. As he rose to his feet, Elaina instructed, "We shall never speak of this to anyone. Understood?" Marchette remained mute, but nodded. "Good. So," she said, clapping her hands once, "When are we scheduled to depart for Haljhir?"

"Any time after midnight," was Marchette's instant reply. He looked rather relieved at the change in subject.

Nodding absently as she thought, Elaina answered "Right. Good," in a rather vacant manner. Rather awkwardly, instead of the nonchalant fashion she wanted to broach the subject, she asked, "Do you know who'll be there?" Marchette just looked confused. In an almost desperate fashion, she tried again. "Do you know who my father will have there, for me to meet?" The lights still weren't on. "DoyouknowwhichNeskabI'llhavetosleepwith?" The words tumbled out in a rush, but thankfully the bodyguard finally got the gist of the message.

He smiled reassuringly. "I'm certain he'll choose a very worthy candidate. Most likely, it will be one of Mathew Neskab's middle boys. My best guesses would be William, Marcus, Braden or Marshal. If he chooses a nephew, it'll be most likely be one of Liam's own children. It all depends on who is having their Time of Virility"

Elaina looked horrified. "I'd have to sleep with one of his _children_! That's disgusting!"

"Which is why its unlikely you'd have a nephew as your partner," Marchette quickly assured her. "Your father will also rub insult in the Neskab's faces, should they offer too lowly a candidate."

Elaina sank down onto the couch muttering, "Why me?"

Though the question was rhetorical, Marchette answered, "Because you are the only daughter of Zachariah Nichelle that still remains alive. All others have been killed in one way or another. The already furious Neskabs will be unforgivably insulted, should any but Zachariah's capable daughter be offered to them."

"Great!" Elaina muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She brooded for a moment, but her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. _Why am I so interesting to these people?_ She thought, exasperated. She motioned for Marchette to answer the door as she plastered a smile on her face.

Marchette had barely turned the knob when the door burst open and a man came hurrying in, a serious look upon his face. As soon as his eyes lay upon her he bowed stiffly and inquired, "Elaina Nichelle?"

Confused, Elaina affirmed. "Who are you?" she asked.

He bowed again slightly and said, "I am your nephew Nigel. Your father sent me for you."

Even more perplexed, Elaina blurted out, "I wasn't supposed to leave until nightfall."

Nigel rolled his eyes. "The circumstances of your travel arrangements have changed. We have but a small window of opportunity. Waiting until nightfall will see that window closed."

Marchette who'd been watching the whole proceedings, asked authoritatively, "What happened?"

Nigel turned to him and looked slightly relieved, as if Marchette's presence negated any problems. "The Danalli have attacked the compounds in Venisa. My lord believes that other attacks may follow on the compounds of our allies. He wishes his daughter to be at his side immediately."  
Marchette was nodding, though the situation hardly needed it. "How are we to get her to the airstrips?" he asked finally, after thinking a moment. "All the men I picked out for the convoy this evening weren't Pure Bloods. I don't like the idea of sending her off with just you and I for protection."

Nigel shook his head. "Sorry mate, but that's the best we can do. We're traveling by motorcade to the airport, then taking a small helicopter to a securer location that will be revealed in due time. Next we fly to Cordalla. We will be in a convoy though."

Marchette frowned. "Who else is coming?"

"Some Neskab boy. We're meeting him at the secure airstrip."

Marchette's frown deepened. "Why's he coming? He could very well be a loose cannon, and could easily endanger the mission."

Shrugging, Nigel replied, "He's head of negotiations between the Neskabs and Nichelles, whoever he is. Besides," he added, "his entourage should more than enough make up for the lack of security on our end."

Marchette glared. "I don't trust Neskab security. They're terrible. They let that Mathew boy be murdered in his sleep. There's even speculation that it was his very own bodyguard." He shook his head, "No, I'll be glad when we touch ground in Cordalla." He looked thoroughly unhappy. As almost a second thought, Marchette glanced at Elaina and said, "You'd better get ready madam. We'll be leaving in about half an hour."

Nodding, Elaina retreated back into her bedroom. As soon as she set foot inside, she saw the bed. The room still reeked of sex. What was she going to do? She had time enough to either wash Marchette off her skin, or clean evidence of their act from the room. With a sigh she decided that the room was a better plan. Quickly she re-tucked the sheet into the bed, which had somehow gotten dislodged the night before. She returned the bedside table it its original position, with all its knickknacks put back in place. After a little hunting, she also found the pillow that had managed to fly its way into the wardrobe. She straightened and admired her work. The room looked like it'd been slept in, but not _slept _in.

As she dressed, she came to realize something. Almost her entire existence as a Nichelle had consisted of dressing for traveling. It was all rather strange. Would that be what she'd do for the rest of her life? Would she go hither and thither according to someone else's wishes? That was hardly the life she desired. With a sigh, she resigned and pulled on the remainder of her clothing.

Surveying herself in the mirror she decided that her clothing was exactly right, though she was no fashion critic, like some that she knew. Because they were to be traveling, which could involve walking, or running, should things turn for the worse, the attire she'd worn for her trip into the city was hardly appropriate. Stiletto boots were never good for running for one's life. But she faced another dilemma. She didn't know what setting she'd be immediately thrust into once she reached Cordalla. The last thing she wanted was to look like a slob in ill-fitting or badly chosen clothing. So she settled for a preppy, casual look. She wore dark colored jeans that looked both casual and dressy. Beneath she wore sneakers plain enough to look elegant. Her top consisted of a pale green knit tank top over a long-sleeved brown shirt. Due to the fact she'd chosen to clean the room instead of wash her hair, she simply pulled it back into a single braid, the small tail that couldn't be braided twirled into a large ringlet that rested on shoulder. She looked conservative yet laid back. Ready for anything but a black-tie-gala, though she doubted she would be thrust into that sort of situation. Even though her sense of fashion could be deemed as pathetic, she was still pretty sure she was ready for any sort of setting. Visually, at least; mental preparedness was another issue.

She'd been going over the last details of her attire when Marchette knocked on the door, calling that it was time to go. With a sigh, she opened the door and emerged from her bedroom. There were two changes to the room since she'd last left it. The first was that Nigel was missing. The second was the woman now sitting on the couch, as regal as a queen; her mother. When Elaina appeared, Lady Myra stood up and wrapped her arms around her long lost daughter.

"I am terribly disappointed that we could not have any time together my dear," Lady Myra murmured as she held her youngest child close. "You shall have to return soon," she held the girl at arm's length, "right?" Elaina nodded, not really knowing what to say to the woman who'd been her mother for all of a day. Satine smiled a sugary grin and simply said, "Good." Turning to Marchette she added, as all mothers tend to, "Take care of her." She quickly kissed Elaina's cheek then strode from the room.

Nigel returned then and informed them that the car escort was ready. As they emerged from the room, there were people lining the corridor. It seemed that every person she'd met in Nephrita was in attendance. Norah and Mary were closest to her, the latter nearly in tears. As her sister put her arms around her, she murmured in Elaina's ear, "You make sure to come back real soon, OK?" She released her and held her at arm's length, a small, but sad, smile playing on her full red lips. "I would like to know the sister who's never actually been other before."

Embarrassed again, Elaina nodded mutely and smiled stiffly as she pulled away gently. With a glance at Mary, she saw the woman looked miserable. With a good-natured roll of her eyes Elaina held out her arms indicating that her great-niece could hug her. Instantly the girl brightened, and with a watery-eyed grin, threw her arms around her great-aunt.

Nigel and Marchette watched impassively at Elaina's displays of affection. But only Nigel had the audacity to tap his foot in impatience. Elaina heard. She rolled her eyes in distaste and turned to her nephew, raising and eyebrow, asking, "Something for you?"

In that instant, Marchette was struck at how much a daughter of Zachariah Nichelle she was, without even conscious knowledge. Her piercing glare that was so well disguised as a questioning glance was terrifyingly similar to Lord Nichelle's. So strong was the aura of the Nichelle leader around her, she could have been Zachariah's twin sister, rather than possessor of _half _his genes. It was astonishing to watch her cause her nephew's arrogance crumble into timidity and bring him to fear her in an instant.

Nervously, Nigel cleared his throat and said in a rather quiet voice, "We should be away madam."

With a rather forced smile, Elaina nodded and said stiffly, "How thoughtful of you to think of my travel arrangements. I am so happy your priorities are straight." She turned her back on the older man, dismissing him as if her were nothing. To her sister, in a very different tone, she said, "I will try to be back as soon as I am permitted. I would very much to get to know you better." As she looked around the hallway, she added, "I'd like to get to know you _all_ better!" The hard look returned to her features as she turned back to Nigel, informing him, along with that same hard, sarcastic smile, "I'm ready to leave now."

Rapidly nodding, Nigel practically tripped over his feet to lead the way down to the car garage. Elaina was silent, the nervous and unsure girl who had entered the domain of the Pure Bloods grieving for the murder of her former lover hours later emerged hard and cold, the cloak of authority and nobility resting comfortably on her shoulders. The way she brushed past countless people, forcing them to stand aside so that her path would not falter. When they reached the elevator where Marchette once described her mood as little more than a tantrum, she brooded in silence, filling the enclosed space with her bitterness. If she was going to have a stranger's child, it would be on her _own _terms.


	42. Leaving Nephrita

**_so sorry this took so long! i really meant to get it done, but got serious writer's block. enjoy, and tell me what you think. you atually don't get a lot out of it. haha. i WILL try to get the next one done in less than 2 weeks_**

Emerging from the elevator, Marchette watched his charge closely. Something in her seemed to have snapped. Some lever in her mind had been thrown; some cog had begun to turn. She was cool and calculating with every motion. Perhaps that was how she was before her Awakening. When she knew and accepted what she was. Maybe that was the case now. Could she have come to accept her fate, no longer rejecting who she was or what she represented? Or maybe she was just furious at her situation and was venting her anger on those around her. Once safely on the plane, free of eavesdroppers, Marchette planned to investigate further.

Elaina was sorely disappointed when their vehicle pulled out of the parking complex, flanked by two motorbikes into the daylight. After more than two months living exclusively nocturnally, Elaina's first glimpse of day was grey, overcast, and foggy. There was no visible sign of the sun.

The bleak weather further darkened her mood. As ominous thunderheads loomed overhead the remaining passengers of the SUV had fallen into a nervous silence, wary of the Pure Blood who brooded in the back seat, glaring out at the sleet. Marchette was constantly glancing over at her from the corner of his eye from his spot beside her in the back seat. He noticed that the two Faithfuls in the front seats did the same. By the way Elaina rolled her eyes in disgust, the bodyguard knew she'd noticed.

The uneasy silence continued for twenty more painful minutes. It was broken sharply when Elaina sat up further and asked suddenly, "What's that sound?"  
The Faithfuls' eyes both snapped to the rear-view-mirror. Cautiously, the driver said slowly, "I don't hear -- "

"Shh," Marchette cut him off. He heard it too. What was that? It was such a strange sound. It was nearly familiar, but still completely alien. "What is that?" He asked aloud. Confusion etched on his features, mirrored in his charge's.

Elaina looked thoughtful. "It almost sounds like -- " She didn't get to finish. Suddenly the ground heaved beneath the vehicle and a loud bang slammed the groups' senses. The SUV pitched violently sideways, rolling several times before sliding to rest on its side.

For an instant, there was quiet, then the two Faithfuls in the front seat, correction, one faithful in the front seat, began to moan. From somewhere nearby, there was a terrible scream of agony. Marchette was lying against the door panel, the handle digging uncomfortably into his spine. Dangling above him, restrained by her seat belt was Elaina. She had an expression on her face of one who was listening very hard. After a moment, she deemed they were alone.

Or as alone as they could get. Now seeing that his partner was no longer in the vehicle, and that his upper half was dangling upside-down, with his legs trapped in the wheel-well, the driver was in hysterics, yelling his comrade's name. Elaina was trying to shush him, but he refused to listen.

Marchette knew that by the look on Elaina's face, and the way she was miming strangling motions with a crazed glint in her eye, that it would be best if the driver were permanently quieted. With a tiny grunt, Marchette heaved himself up and, with the ease of breaking a twig, snapped the man's neck. The dying man gurgled a little but was silent nearly instantly.

"We shouldn't have killed him," Marchette admitted as he helped Elaina from her dangling state. "We broke the Faithful Code."

"There's a Faithful Code?" Elaina asked as she was set on her feet.

"Yes," he replied. "It forbids us from doing harm to those who serve us. That means no taking blood without permission and no killing them without reason."

"Oh, if that's all," Elaina said dismissively as she awkwardly climbed between the front seats and eased out the broken windshield. "He was going to die anyways. His spine was broken in such a way that it'd kill him just to move him."

"And you know this how?" Marchette asked, clamoring out after her.

"I saw it happen," she answered bluntly. "He was thrown sideways over the armrest because his shoulder belt was tucked behind him, rather than across his chest." She looked around for the other passenger, who, for the time, had fallen silent. "I heard it too," she added. "The sound of someone's spine breaking is quite distinctive once you've heard it a few times."

Marchette glanced at her sidelong as they approached the second Faithful. "How many other times have you heard it exactly?"

Nibbling her lip as she knelt by the man, feeling for a pulse, she absently answered, "Three times. This is the fourth." Gasping, she exclaimed, "He's alive," as she gripped his hand.

Staring hard, Marchette realized that the corpse was indeed still alive. His eyes shuttered minutely behind closed lids and there was a whisper of breath that escaped his bloody lips. He was terrible to look upon. Amazingly, his face was entirely intact, and but for a long scratch that ran from cheek to chin, it was completely untouched. Unfortunately, as perfect as his face was, it was how bad condition the rest of him was. One of his legs was just a grisly stump below the knee, while the other had had the flesh torn off all the way down to the bone, for the entire leg. His left arm was twisted behind him, so that his left hand lay at the level of his right hip; the right arm was twisted above him in some cruel gesture. His chest was deflated like an old ball, collapsing in some places more than others. Here and there, his rips poked through. _This is what you get for not wearing a seat belt_, Marchette thought critically. He wouldn't last long. He'd gone into shock and would die soon.

"Is there anything we can do?" Elaina asked quietly. She already knew the answer. The man had been crushed and dragged under the vehicle. No one survived that, especially not a human; a Vampire possibly, but not a human. She looked up at her bodyguard and knew he agreed on the course of action. He silently pulled off his jacket and moved towards him. "Wait," Elaina said, laying a hand on his arm. "I'll do it." She took the cloth and bundled it up, squeezing it for a moment to calm herself.

She turned back at last to the man and knelt by his side. For a moment, her features twisted in grief, until they became a mask of tenderness. With this soft and sad expression unwavering upon her face, she pressed the jacket over the man's face. It was rather peaceful. He was so far into unconsciousness and his body was so shattered, that he didn't struggle at all. He just laid there, a designer jacket blocking his airway until the Vampires heard his heart, already so slow and laboring, reduce to a stop.

For a moment she was still, collecting herself, then Elaina got to her feet, looking around. "Where are those men on the bikes?"

Marchette looked around. "There's one," he pointed. Elaina rushed to the fallen man's side. He was dead. Fortunately for them, his bike was completely intact. Only a large scratch that mired the paint was the damage inflicted by the blast.

The second bike was not to be seen. Sometime in the confusion, the rider had slipped away. On a hunch, Marchette inspected the rear bumper of the SUV. It and the rest of the back had been almost completely blown away. This must have been where the biker planted the bomb. The explosion of the SUV was what killed the man who rode in front of vehicle. Thankfully, there was a row of back seats, behind himself and his charge, which absorbed most of the blast.

"Who do you think he was working for?" Elaina asked, surprising Marchette as she came up silently behind him.

Shrugging, he answered, "it seems to obviously been the Danalli."

Elaina caught his tone. "You don't sound convinced," she observed.

"Its very _obvious_,"he said again, putting emphasis on the obviousness of the situation.

"You think it's a setup?" Elaina asked. The bodyguard nodded slightly. "I agree," she said. "But for the moment, lets just try to get to Haljir in one piece, ok?" She turned away and strode to the dead man's bike. Pulling it upright, she asked, "You want to drive, or should I?"

Smirking slightly, Marchette raised an eyebrow and commented, "I'd be a rather poor bodyguard if I allowed my charge to kill the both of us, because she was an inadequate driver."

Elaina made an annoyed face, "So you're driving?" she asked rhetorically.

Marchette grinned at her as he swung his leg over the bike, starting it. He glanced up at her, where she stood, arms folded over her chest, scowling. Raising an eyebrow, he looked pointedly at her, then at the seat behind him. When she glared, he grinned again. "Are you getting on or not?" he asked casually.

Rolling her eyes, Elaina sighed gustily before she climbed on the bike behind her bodyguard. Unseen by him, she made a slight face before wrapping her arms around his waist.

"You ready?" Marchette called, nearly shouting over the roar of the revving engine.

Elaina nodded before she realized he couldn't see it. "Yup," she said firmly in his ear, squeezing his waist a bit as well, to assure him of her grip.

Like a bullet they shot down the street, the wind causing Elaina's brown hair to stream behind them as it was teased free of its braid. They'd been going for about a minute when the skies opened. The raindrops were as large as coins and struck like shards of ice as they collided with the riders at high speed. Almost instantly the two of them were soaked. Marchette was forced to reduce their speed to ease some of the pain of the drops.

"How much farther?" Elaina practically shouted in Marchette's ear, barely able to hear her own voice over the bike and the rain. She was able to feel her bodyguard's reply vibrate through his torso, but his words were lost. After several frenzied minutes, they pulled into an above-ground-parkade, climbing to the highest level.

Marchette parked the bike and helped his charge dismount, before he tugged her in the direction of a covered walkway which led to the building the parkade was joined to. Marchette ripped a pistol from his waistband when they broke into a stairwell at the end of the walkway. He quickly scanned up and down the stairs, before pulling Elaina along behind him as he ascended.

After climbing about ten floors, Elaina ventured to ask, "Where exactly is it we're going?"

Marchette, who was still rather on edge, never broke pace as he answered, "Kegan's on the roof. He'll fly us to an airstrip, and we can rendezvous with the convoy later."

"Does anyone know he's there?" Elaina asked.

Shaking his head, the bodyguard replied, "No. I thought it best to have a secret backup plan. In case of an event like this."

"Sounds good," Elaina agreed. The plan made perfect sense. With one assassination attempt carried out, there could be more, harming innocent people. It was better to revert to a backup plan that few people knew about.

"Besides," Marchette said, as an afterthought, "my brother wants to avoid your niece Alexis. She seems rather smitten with him." He chuckled a little.

So round and round they went, climbing stair after stair. The level they'd entered the building was between the third and fourth floors; this skyscraper, rather small in size, was over 100 floors in height. They climbed every stair at a near run. They were both breathing heavily as they slammed through the access door to the rain-pelted roof. Under the eaves, they stopped as Marchette checked the stairwell behind them to be sure they weren't followed. As Elaina regained her breath, she realized she was very thirsty; painfully so. Gasping, Elaina slumped against the wall next to the door, holding her head.

When Marchette returned, he swore softly and exclaimed, "Miss Nichelle, I'm so sorry. I should have realized you'd be thirsty. I foolishly forgot how young you were." He looked around slightly hopelessly, then, almost grudgingly, extended his arm to her. "Here," he offered, "This should hold you over until you can hunt."

"Thank you," Elaina murmured before sinking her teeth into his wrist. Marchette grunted with pain and went very still. Elaina had only meant to drink for a moment, but she lost control. When she bit him again, she ripped into his flesh, causing him to yell with pain.

Kegan Marchette, who was lounging by the helicopter, just out of sight, heard his brother's cry and raced towards his twin. He found him on his knees before the young Nichelle girl, who was drinking greedily from his brother's arm. With a cry of rage, Kegan tackled her, ripping her away from his brother, his momentum launching them into the downpour. The girl snarled and struggled to free herself as Kegan pinned her to the concrete. "Calm down," he snapped. When she bared her teeth at him, he shook her, causing her to bang her head. That seemed to wake her up a little. She closed her eyes and a tremor coursed through her body. "That's it," he said softly, trying to soothe her. Her brow furrowed and she began to tremble, her chest rapidly rising and falling as she gasped for breath. Squinting through the rain, Kegan was relieved to see his brother had regained his feet. He called to his twin, "There is a janitor on the floor below us. Bring him here."

Nikoli took one glance at the woman he was guarding, and then ran off to find the janitor. Elaina's blood lust had gotten to the point that, if not treated with care, could manifest into Blood Rage. And that was a rather unpleasant thing when at the top of a skyscraper. The human was where Kegan said he was, so Nikoli easily picked the man up and dragged him back to the roof.

Upon Nikoli's approach, Elaina went very still. She could smell the human's panic, could taste his sweat on the air, and could hear his heart's steady, racing melody. Kegan waited until his brother was close, then released his captive, quickly rolling as far from her as he could. The man never stood a chance. He barely had enough time to squeak the foundation of a scream, before his throat was ripped apart. Elaina was through with him in under a minute.

Standing protected from the rain, the Marchette twins watched warily as their charge stood over the fresh corpse, drenched in blood and water. Her eyes were shut and she was standing very rigidly. It was Nikoli who braved the consequences by stepping forward and laid a hand on her shoulder, "Elaina," he asked tentatively, "are you alright?"

She turned to him and all the aggression and insanity had faded from her features, replaced by remorse and embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, looking at her feet. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Smiling, Nikoli clapped her shoulder and said, "I'm fine. But we should leave. Now." He glanced back at his brother, who nodded and lead the way to the waiting helicopter.

The trip to the airstrip was long and awkward. Elaina sheepishly apologized several times to both Marchettes, but they both refused them. Eventually, she just rolled her eyes and fell silent. She watched as the towers of Nephrita faded into the clouds, and wondered when, if ever, she'd find a permanent home. If she was going to have children, she wanted them safe, without the need to cart them around the world at sporadic intervals.

As she mulled over her future, she barely noticed they'd landed at a misty airstrip, only realizing their arrival when Nikoli exited the vehicle and turned to help her. Here, the downpour of the city had been reduced to a heavy, wet fog. They hurried to a small jet that stood ready about fifty yards away. Once onboard, Kegan moved towards the cockpit, while Elaina's bodyguard moved her aft. There were only a dozen or so well padded seats, and no one else in the plain. The intercom dinged, and Kegan told them to take their seats for takeoff.

Once in the air, Marchette pointed out an area further to the back of the plane, first a sort of sitting room, then a bedroom. Elaina took refuge there, instantly falling asleep on the massive bed, only to wake to return to her seat for landing. The plane had barely come to a halt when they were moving again, out of their seats and down the ramp, rushing across the tarmac to a second, larger plane. The interior was much the same as the first. There were more seats and people actually occupied about a third of them.

Elaina moved to an empty window-seat, with her bodyguard taking the aisle seat. Across from her, two more seats faced her, which were empty. Leaning over, she quietly asked the bodyguard, "Is this the convoy?" As he adjusted his seatbelt, Marchette nodded, his eye sweeping the cabin. He'd picked a seat that allowed him to watch every passenger on the plane. "Is the Neskab guy here?"

Marchette shook his head, still scanning the cabin. "These are all Lord Nichelle's retainers. Men and women he trusts." He turned to the younger woman, "With these people in charge of negotiations, it is unlikely they will break down, resulting in violence."

"Are things really that bad?" Elaina asked, a little nervous.

"Naw," a strange man answered, dropping into the seat opposite Elaina. "Ol' Nikoli just likes to see the worst in people."

Elaina raised an eyebrow and regarded the man. He was rather tall and well toned, with ebony hair and olive skin. He had quick dark eyes that were filled with intelligence and hid his emotions. A small smirk sat at the corner of his mouth. He seemed to radiate authority. "And you are?" Elaina asked arrogantly, though she knew he outranked her.

The man grinned and held out hand, "Jordan Nichelle. Good to see ya little sister."


	43. More Nichelles!

**_Sorry for taking so long. will probably be the same amount of time until the next one. haha. sorry. there's not much that happens in this chapter. but don't worry, she'll get to the Neskabs soon enough_**

* * *

Elaina stared at her brother for a moment. She'd heard the name before. "You're Zachariah's, I mean, Father's heir." Her brother nodded. "Why are you here?" She knew she sounded rude, but she was too shocked to care.

Marchette laid a hand on her arm. "With Jordan here, you're sure to get a good father for your child. He can't be bullied like any other person, because he outranks anyone the Neskabs choose to represent them."

Elaina looked skeptical. "You outrank everyone?" disbelief coloured her words sourly.

Jordan chuckled good-naturedly. "As heir to the League of Nichelle, I'd better outrank the families within the League. If not, things could get sticky when I take up my mantle, figuratively speaking." He smiled and leaned forward to pat her knee. "Don't worry," he said, with mock seriousness. "I only outrank you by a little."

Confused Elaina said, "What? I'm the youngest of Zachariah's children, as far as I know. Shouldn't you outrank me epically?"

Jordan grinned. "The youngest sibling you may be, but you are the _only_ female to have survived. Therefore you are _my_ heir. Should anything happen to me, _you _take my place as future leader."

Now beyond thunderstruck, Elaina just stared at him, mouth hanging open, and eyes wide. Marchette jumped to fill the silence, explaining, "Miss Elaina hasn't heard this before now. Its rather a shock."

Jordan snorted. "I guess it would be. I'd be a little shocked if I'd learned it too."

"Why am I so high ranked, just because I'm female?" Elaina asked, once she'd regained use of her mouth.

Marchette gave her a reassuring smile. "The laws of inheritance among Pure Bloods are such: the oldest child is the heir, followed by the oldest female," He explained. "This is so that the bloodline may be carried on, without being sullied by the children of the firstborn. The parent's blood is what they want, not the grandchild of the ruler, who only shares less than a quarter of their genes. Succession follows the siblings and then the children of the oldest. It making more sense to you now?" He asked kindly, as an afterthought.

Elaina nodded slowly. Turning to her brother, she asked, "Do you have any ideas as to whom the possible father of my child may be?"

Nodding, Jordan reached into the bag that he'd dropped unnoticed on the seat next to him; from it, he pulled a laptop. With a quick, "may I?" he and Marchette switched seats, so he could sit next to his sister and point out the people on the screen. "Candidate Number One," he said in regal tones. Pressing a key, the image of a handsome young man who appeared to be in his late twenties appeared on the screen. ""Alexander Neskab." Jordan frowned and stared at the screen. "No," he said abruptly, "he won't do."

"Because?" Elaina asked, curious though she'd never admit it.

Jordan scoffed and gestured at the screen, replying in a tone that implied the answer was obvious, "Alexander is the grandson of Liam's sister. His place is so lowly that it's insulting to you and I that they suggested him."

"Oh," Elaina said, "I had no idea." It seemed that the world of the Pure Bloods was more of a hierarchy than she'd first assumed. Humming quietly, Jordan skipped over several men without even mentioning their names. All too quickly, he reached the end of the list. Frustration and confusion marked his features.

"What's wrong sir?" Marchette asked, sensing Jordan's irritation.

Jordan frowned. "There is not one good offer on the table," he said quietly. "they are only presenting the options of sending another girl at a different time, or setting Elaina up with Mathew Neskab. That Reich bitch would have war for either option."

Intrigued, Elaina asked, "Who's Mathew Neskab? And who's this Reich person?"

"Mathew Neskab is Liam's father," Jordan explained, "and the apple barely fell from the tree, let alone far from it."

"And Allison Reich is Mathew's wife, and co-ruler of the Neskabs," Marchette supplied. Liam's her little angel. Any slight to either man leads usually to bloodshed."

"And having your husband sleep with the girl who accuses your angel of rape is a slight," Elaina concluded. "So," she asked, clasping her hands together and leaning forward on her knees, "What do we do then?"

Jordan gave her a half smile, the considering look never leaving his face. "For now," he replied, "nothing." Shrugging, he added, "We won't reach Haljir for several hours, and even then, ceremony won't allow us to begin negotiations for about a day. You should rest," he told his sister, "and drink lots of blood. We want the smell of your bodyguard off you so as not to arise accusations of impropriety." When Elaina looked away and refused to meet his eye, he added in a stern undertone, "Kegan told me what happened on that rooftop. That was very dangerous Elaina." She winced. "I don't want to hear about anything like that happening again, you hear? You risk your life and the lives of those around you by not drinking when you should, or failing to maintain composure. Do I make myself clear?" Sullenly, Elaina nodded, still not meeting her brother's eyes. "Good," his tone had resumed normal volume. "There is a bedroom at the back of the plane. Go there and I'll ensure some blood is sent in to you. You're to stay there until we begin our descent." Nodding, Elaina rose and left. As Marchette moved to follow, Jordan snapped, "Stay here. I'd like a word with you."

Marchette lowered himself carefully back into his seat, warily watching the Nichelle heir. "What can I do for you, sir?" he asked, keeping his voice perfectly innocent and nonchalant.

Leaning forward, Jordan hissed so quietly that Marchette barely heard him speak, "You fucked my sister."

Marchette almost succeeded in looking confused and curious, when he asked, "I did?"

Glaring menacingly, Jordan nodded. "I will overlook the face that you took advantage of a woman so young, she is _barely_ out of childhood, and I will forgive that you were intimate with my sole remaining sister. But what I will _not _stand is how _you_ have put our _entire_ mission at jeopardy, because you couldn't keep your pants on under the seduction of a nineteen year old."

Marchette drooped in his seat and stared at the floor. "I'm sorry sir," he mumbled.

"You should be," Jordan snapped vehemently, still keeping his voice low to foil eavesdroppers. "Do you have any idea what your actions have done to her credibility?" When Marchette remained silent, Jordan snarled, "My sister is flying to Haljir to testify that the governing family's beloved son forced himself upon her, against her will. Now, would _you _believe the story if _you _learned that she'd slept with her bodyguard mere days after accusing _your _son?"

The bodyguard sunk lower into his seat, shame radiating from his pores. He kept murmuring how deeply sorry he was, how irresponsible he was. "It was so stupid," he mumbled.

"You're damn right it was!" Jordan hissed. He fumed in silence for a moment, letting Marchette stew in his guilt. "From now on," he commanded, "you are no longer permitted to remain with my sister alone for periods longer than a few minutes." Calming down a little, he sighed and sat back, commenting, "Her breakdown earlier today was actually a remarkable boon it seems. It explains why you smell like each other." Marchette nodded rapidly in agreement. Glaring at the younger man, Jordan said, "Leave me. Go be with your brother. I'll send someone to tend to your mistress."

Marchette got to his feet and humbly bowed, murmuring thanks for his discretion and forgiveness.

"Oh, and Nikoli," Jordan said, as Marchette was about to leave, "I don't care if your dick falls off as a result, but you are not to touch my sister until _well _after this business with the Neskabs is through. Do you understand?" Marchette nodded and fled.

* * *

Elaina lounged on the bed for a long time after she awoke. She just stared at the ceiling, random thoughts floating through her head. Her musing was interrupted though by a soft knock at the door. "Yes?" she called.

"May I come in miss?" a timid voice called through the door.

"Sure," Elaina replied, hoping she kept the reluctance out of her voice. She didn't exactly feel like keeping company.

The door swung open to reveal a gorgeous woman in her mid twenties. She had sunshine-blond hair and bright, shocking blue eyes. She smiled, lighting up her face impossibly further, saying, "Hi, I'm Maggie."

Elaina smiled tiredly and said, "you know who I am already, don't you?"

Nodding, Maggie explained, "You're my half-brother's aunt." She giggled, "I guess that makes you my half-aunt." Elaina forced an awkward laugh. Maggie didn't seem to notice. She bounced across the room and plopped herself down on the bed next to her half-aunt. "Uncle Jordan said that I was to be part of your entourage," she said self-importantly. "He says it'd look best for you if you didn't hang around solely with men."

Elaina sat up, "My entourage?" she asked sharply.

Maggie nodded enthusiastically. "We're your _crew_, _minions_, _posse_, whatever you want us to be."

"We?" Elaina repeated unenthusiastically.

Nodding more vigorously, Maggie explained, "you'd look silly if you just hung around with that Marchette fellow." A thoughtful look crossed her face, "Even if he is dreamy." She sighed dramatically, much like a crushing Amazonian schoolgirl. "So Uncle Jordan thought it best to add some more people to your group. There is I, my half-brother Peter, and our cousin, your nephew, Victor, who have been assigned to you. You'll find that in Cordalla, you'll pick up a rather large flock of admirers."  
Elaina snorted, "Admirers?"

Maggie raised an eyebrow. "Have you looked in a mirror lately? You embody brunette hotness!" she exclaimed, exasperation colouring her tone.

"Brunette hotness?" Elaina scoffed. "Yeah," she drawled, "Sure."

"Dude," Maggie exclaimed seriously, "_I'd _do you."

Elaina blushed and laughed embarrassedly. "You're just kissing up," she mumbled.

Maggie snorted. "Trust me, the rank helps, but you would be hot if you came from the gutters. I'm surprised your bodyguard hasn't jumped you yet. Unless," she shot the other woman a look under lowered lashes, "unless he already has." She left the statement hanging. Elaina knew any denial would be proven false instantly. Her silence was enough to tell the truth. "Oooh," Maggie squealed, shaking her hands and kicking her heels on the bed, "Tell me more."

Elaina grabbed her, a panicked look in her eyes. "You can't tell anyone!" she hissed, shaking the woman.

Maggie's features softened and her smile became warm and comforting. She patted her half-aunt's cheek and said, "Don't worry Miss Elaina, you're secret's safe with me."

Elaina relaxed a little. "Is it noticeable?" she asked, frightened.

Shaking her head, Maggie assured her, "No, it was a guess. An example. I meant to embarrass you, not scare you."

Elaina let out a gushing sigh of relief, staying quiet for a moment to absorb the situation. "Am I really that hot?" she asked, still disbelieving.

Maggie sighed exasperatedly and rolled her eyes, pulling her half-aunt in the direction of the bathroom. She placed the younger woman in front of the mirror and cried, "Just look at you!" Elaina did, for the first time trying to see what a stranger would.

It startled her. Gazing out of the mirror was a goddess of death. So terrifying she was magnificent, so alluring she was innocent. Her dark eyes pulled you into a vortex of emotions as they burrowed into your soul. Her dark chocolate hair curled around her throat and shoulders like a lover's hand, caressing and sliding over her flawless skin. Fascinated, Elaina reached out for the glass, forgetting it was her own reflection. Touching the mirror brought her back to reality, recalling her to her own image. "How is it possible?" she whispered, afraid to mire the reflection.

Maggie grinned in the mirror. "Now do you see what I mean?" She laughed as the other woman nodded, eyes still wide. Pausing, she considered her half-aunt. "You need better clothes though," she commented. "You look like you just took a bath in blood, then broke down a building. Is that rubble I see in your hair?" she scrutinized the back of Elaina's head.

A half smile escaping the corner of her mouth, Elaina turned and said, as if it were an everyday event, "car bomb. No biggie."

Snorting, Maggie asked, "In what world is that no biggie?"

Elaina shrugged, "I grew up to become an Agent. I've been shot at since I was twelve. What?" she asked, confused.

Maggie was staring in horror. "An Agent?" she breathed. "What?"

Elaina rested a firm hand on the taller woman's shoulder, to hold her in place before she bolted, explaining, "I was raised by an Agent as a ruse to keep me safe. The Agent's true child was given my identity. I only really found out about all this a few days ago." She guessed it might've been a bad idea to tell the already shocked woman that she thought she was the daughter of the late Chief Commander. It could send the wrong message.

"Wow," Maggie said, impressed. "That's gotta just blow your mind." She laughed, nervously. "Do try not to drop that into too many conversations in the future, okay? It tends to cause others to jump to conclusions, and panic. Others being me." She managed a weak smile.

"Sorry," Elaina said, sheepishly.

Flapping her hand, Maggie informed Elaina to forget it. "But you do need new clothes," she said, once more returning to the topic of fashion. She looked the other up and down and said, "Hmm, you definitely won't fit in my clothes."

Elaina burst out laughing. Maggie was easily a half-foot taller than her, with mile long legs and a greater bust. The thought that the two of them could share clothes was preposterous. Maggie joined her and they clutched each other, supporting the other until the fits of giggles passed.

Wiping her eyes, Maggie said, "I'll go see if anyone more your size has anything to spare. I'll be back in a second." She pranced to the door and opened it on two rather unsuspecting men, one of whom had his fist raised to knock.

He blinked once and said, "Oh, hello. How did you know I was here?"

Maggie smiled slyly and said, "A woman always knows." Turning, she said, "This is my brother Peter."

"I prefer Pete," he corrected, shaking his aunt's hand. "Its great to meet you, Aunt Elaina."

"And this is Victor," Maggie added, pulling the other man forward.

He grinned and shook Elaina's hand as well, saying, "I prefer Victor."

Elaina snorted. "I prefer Elaina, if it's all the same to you. If you three are to be my _crew_, there'd better be none of this _miss_ or _aunt_ or _half-aunt_ in your case," she added, nodding at Maggie. "I'd prefer just to be Elaina."

"Sounds good," Pete said. "Aunt Elaina sounds kinda strange when addressing your superior anyways." He glanced at his cousin, who was still partially outside the room, then back at Elaina, "May we come in?" he asked politely.

Elaina nodded, beckoning them in. As they entered, Maggie brushed past in the other direction, off in search of a woman who'd share clothes with Elaina.

"Dude, what happened to you on the ride over here?" Victor asked as he dropped onto the bed. "You three looked like you'd been through hell. Especially you and Nik Marchette."

"Oh, that," Elaina said, dismissively flapping her hand. "It was just a little car bomb."

"Then why are you covered in blood?" Pete asked, raising an eyebrow as he slumped against the wall.

Elaina rolled her eyes. "There were Faithfuls in the car, who died." She silently thanked all her training in the Academy in the art of deception. Without it, they would've blown her story wide open.

"And you smell like Nikoli because?" Victor let the end of the question hang in the air.

Elaina scoffed, "I was awoken in October, had my car blown up underneath me, and was banged up in the resulting accident. There were no other sources of blood around."

"October?" Pete repeated incredulously. " You were awoken in October and you're off to a Child Contract?" He whistled. "Wow, I didn't think that happened. How old are you?" he asked.

"Nineteen," she replied warily.

"Dude, you are so lucky!" he cried. "I had to wait 'til I was thirty-eight! Harsh!" He seemed genuinely upset. He turned to Maggie as she reentered the room holding a duffle-bag, "how old were you when you had Davie?"

Maggie took a moment to think. "Thirty-two, I think," she mused.

"God you were lucky," Pete sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Elaina asked, now her turn to be incredulous. "You were twice my age when they forced children on you. I'd call you lucky!"

Three jaws dropped. Then Maggie snickered. "Elaina," she ventured, "Has anyone told you what's entailed when you're getting _children forced on you_?" She emphasized her last words with air-quotes.

Elaina looked at her like the crazy person she was. "Of course I know what happens," Elaina snapped, "You're forced to have sex with a random stranger, then give birth to said stranger's child." The other three looked at each other, and burst out laughing hysterically. "I fail to see what is so funny," Elaina said wryly.

Maggie was the first to recover, wiping tears from her eyes as she explained, "You don't just have sex once and bam! you're pregnant. You get the best sex of your _life_ continuously for like, twenty-four hours straight; minimum!"  
Elaina, still highly confused, sputtered something like, "how does that work?"

Victor, sensing his aunt's plight helped. 'You see Elaina, when a man is in his Time of Virility, his body is basically ready for sex instantaneously. He's got so much extra testosterone and other hormones built up, that he'll be able to regain erections in about a fifth of the time it would normally take him." He raised his eyebrows scandalously as he added, "And we Pure Bloods tend to bounce back fast, if you catch my drift." At that, his cousins broke down again, howling with glee. "Now," he was serious again, "when a woman is in her Time of Fertility, she instinctively searches out the best possible mate for siring children. So, if she fails to find such a man, she'd be very willing to screw anything that moves." Pete resumed cackling, though Maggie had long since quieted. She smacked him on the head, which promptly shut him up.

"The woman's brain also is sending out rather severe messages to her nerve-endings," Maggie cut in. "Basically, anything that touches you arouses you." She had to pause to smack her brother as he exploded into fits once more. "You can leave, you know," she snapped at him.

He held up his hands, which still shook as tremors of giggles rippled through him. "No, no, I promise to be good," he vowed, his solemnity ruined when he shook with silent laughter.

After glaring at her brother for a moment, Maggie resumed, "When you combine those forces with actual sexual desire, it doesn't matter if you'd never met the man before. With his sex-ready-ness, and your brain making any sensory stimulation exceedingly arousing, you will have the best sex ever."

And do you know what the best part is?" Pete crowed. When Elaina shook her head, he grinned and leaned forward, conspiratorially saying, "It gets better the older you get!" Elaina had to giggle. The look on his face of utter joy, amazement and partial lust was rather hilarious.

"So," she asked between giggles, "you guys think I'm lucky, cause I get to have this _amazing sex_ when I'm just nineteen?"

Maggie rolled her eyes, "Well duh!" she exclaimed. When Elaina shook her head in disbelieve, Maggie said, "Well, you'll just have to see for yourself. Here," she held up the duffle bag. "See if any of these fit." She tossed it to her aunt.

Elaina combed through the bag until she found a pair of artfully faded blue jeans and forest green knit sweater, both of which would fit her perfectly. Elaina also noticed that her hair was stiff with dried blood. "Is there anywhere I can shower?" she asked sheepishly.


	44. Meeting the Neskabs

**_Sorry it took so long. Thank you to all that review and read. i love you all. haha. it may be just as long again until the next chapter. i have lots of school work, and i have a job too. luvs ya. Julianne_**

The flight was long and monotonous. Elaina remained in the little bedroom with her new posse for the entire flight. By the time they landed, she'd added two more followers to her little court. There was a man named Colin Makkenly, who was the half brother of Nikoli and Kegan Marchette, and Brittany, Colin's cousin. Colin was a young man with a curly mane of copper hair and grey-green eyes. He was attractive in a boyish way, quite the opposites of his brothers' rugged handsomeness. Brittany was a rather plain woman, as plain as a Pure Blood gets, which is still intensely beautiful, with straight sandy brown hair, and clear blue eyes.

Each of Elaina's new companions had their attributes. Pete was the one who laughed at any jokes, taking pure amusement out of any situation. But he certainly couldn't tell any jokes. Victor was the perverted joker. Anything said around him became a sexual innuendo. He'd set Pete in stitches by simply raising an eyebrow at the right time. Colin was the serious one, which must have been an inherited trait of Marchettes, as both Kegan and Nikoli were as serious as undertakers at times, though Kegan was the liveliest of the three. Colin though, with his boyish look, ended up looking more confused than anything. Brittany was the clear head of the group. She seemed to always be calculating what to say, searching out any repercussions of what she would say; playing a sort of mental chess with the conversation. It was Maggie though, who proved the most valuable. She knew everything that happened anywhere. She was the gossip queen. Almost instantly she worked at getting Elaina up to speed with the political situation among the Pure Bloods. She even knew who the potential fathers were for Elaina's Child Contract. Maggie was as good as any spy. And she was perfectly what Elaina needed to figure out the complex inner workings of the Vampire under-underworld.

As soon as the plane touched tarmac, Jordan entered, motioning for his sister to follow. They stood side by side as a man came bounding up the stairs from the ground. He smiled in a businessman's fashion and firmly shook Jordan's hand. "Sir," he said, "for your protection your party will be broken into five groups. You are accompanying me, and I advise the missus go with the mobile group," he nodded at Elaina.

"Define "mobile,"" Jordan ordered, raising an eyebrow.

The man blushed a little, and ducked his head, "Bikes sir," he said. "Easier for escapes during pursuits."

Jordan glanced at Elaina out of the corner of his eye. She caught the look and said, "I'm fine with that."

Jordan nodded and the man looked relieved. "Right this way sir, madam." He gestured out the door behind him. He turned and left, Jordan right behind him.

As Elaina moved to follow, she suddenly found that several others obstructed her way. They moved forward with practiced ease, hindering Elaina's progress, but remaining within arm's reach of Jordan. She supposed it was for security purposes, as Nikoli Marchette took a shielding position in front of her. But the positioning of her own bodyguards was different than it was with Jordan. To any observer, Maggie was being shielded, Elaina being part of said barrier.

_Clever_, she mused; _Maggie is known to the Neskabs, if they wanted to break this treaty, now would be a perfect time to assassinate her. She's a decoy._

Their group, Maggie striding along in the center of the pack, Elaina slightly inside the ring, trouped over to a pack of about twenty motorbikes. There were already six riders, the rest of the bikes were vacant. The pack split as the new riders mounted. As Elaina pulled on her helmet, a speaker crackled near her left ear. "Alright, can everyone hear me? If you can, raise your right hand," the voice said. Maggie's posse raised their hands. "There is a number on your helmet. That is your code number. You get in trouble," he explained, "call out _this is blah blah blah_, _I have a problem_, or something like that. Please check those numbers. I don't want names used. Agents hack our frequencies too often. Understood?" Maggie's posse nodded. "We're splitting into three groups. You, you and you go now with them." Two bikes roared into power and rode off. Maggie, Colin and Victor sped off behind them. "You and you, you're with those two. Go." Two more bikes left, going in a different direction, hotly pursued by Kegan Marchette and Pete. "You and you are with me." Brittany and Nikoli Marchette gunned off behind their guide, racing to catch up to him. The only remaining biker raised a gloved finger to his helmet, at the approximate level of his mouth. He wanted silence. Elaina nodded. He tapped his helmet three times, and then made a motion as if he was twisting something, and pointed up. Elaina stared, an expression lost behind a tinted visor. He repeated the motion. She realized he was telling her to change channels. She reached inside her helmet and felt a small knob beside the mike that rested by her chin. She twisted it and heard three clicks. Suddenly a voice filled her ears. It was a different man speaking now.

"Good morning," he said. "I hope your flight was pleasant."

Elaina snorted, "It was fine. Surely we didn't go onto a secure network to exchange pleasantries?"

The man chuckled. "If you could follow me please, its safer to speak on the road."

The engines of their bikes roared to life simultaneously and they sped off in a direction completely opposite of Elaina's companions. They raced along in silence until they reached the edge of a forest.

"Where are we going?" Elaina asked, as they bumped along a seldom-used path.

"Detour," the man replied simply.

"Well I can see that," Elaina scoffed good-humouredly.

He chuckled as well. "We're entering the city from the south, as opposed to your friends, coming from the east. You supposedly don't exist, we don't want you making a grand entrance."

Elaina raised her eyebrows, impressed, "makes sense." They were silent for a bit. "So," she said, "We're on a secure frequency. Can I find out your name?"

"Sorry, but no," he replied. "One never knows whose listening. I promise a proper introduction at the compound. Deal?"

Elaina sighed theatrically, "fine."

They'd run out of things to talk about around then. Every once in a while, he'd ask how she was doing, and she'd ask about their path. Going into the city was tense, as there was a barricade set up. But thankfully, the one watching traffic leaving the city was operational, while inbound was completely void of Agents. Elaina commented nonchalantly about how there weren't any Agents, and the man's answer was, "Maybe they're all getting coffee. Or they have the flu."

Elaina chuckled, thinking of all the times she or her classmates were put on barricade duty in the quietest sections of town, whenever they were under the weather. There was this one barricade office that always smelled like vomit, and if you weren't sick on the way in, you most definitely would be, going out.

The rest of their conversation was the man telling Elaina which way to turn as he fell in behind her. When they arrived at what Elaina supposed the Neskab compound to be, a wave of people rushed out to meet them. Some of them still had helmets on.

"There you are," Maggie's voice cried from beneath a helmet, her face peeking out the slot of a pushed up visor. "We wondered where you were."

Elaina smiled slightly as she pulled of her helmet, trying to smooth her now frizzy hair. "We took the back-road." She looked around for her guide, but his bike was being led away by a Faithful and none of the men in the crowd were unknown to her. He'd disappeared. "Where'd he go?" she asked, still looking around for the man.

Maggie pulled of her helmet as well, shaking her immaculate blond hair free, and looked around as well, then raised an eyebrow at Elaina. "You rode up alone. There was that other rider with you in the beginning, but you were alone just now."

"Then where did he go?" she asked incredulously.

Maggie gave her a wry look. "How should I know?" she replied, "You're the one who lost him."

Victor, who was standing beside her, snorted, and put his arm around Elaina saying, "Don't worry Elaina. You still got me." He wiggled his eyebrows and licked his lips suggestively.

Elaina just rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the stomach as Maggie and Brittany howled with laughter. "Where to?" Elaina asked, once her people had quieted.

"This way, ma'am," Colin said briskly, taking Elaina's arm and leading her towards the compound and the inner sanctuary of the Neskab family.

As soon as they entered, Elaina felt out of place. This was a much more hostile and lavish place than any other compound she'd been in. In plain sight, guards stood with guns. Those they passed in the corridors barely hid glares, and elbowed rudely past. Maggie was once more moving in the forefront of the group, walking with the assurance of a woman with authority. Elaina flanked her, taking most of the shoves from the ill-mannered Neskabs.

The suite they entered was gaudy and brightly coloured to the extent of being tacky. Gold leaf and inlay adorned the walls, hiding ancient hardwood walls behind its glitter. The furniture was accented crimson, teal, turquoise, and copper embroidery. The rug had thousands of threads in them, all of violent hues. Everything clashed and yet melded perfectly together in a riot of colour.

Once the door had closed, Elaina made a face as she looked around. Maggie caught the expression of disgust and giggled. "Allison Reich rather likes bright colours. She designed this guest suite herself."

"You don't say," Elaina mumbled, looking around in apprehension. Pete snorted, cackling at Elaina's lack of enthusiasm.

Several rooms branched off of the room they stood in, the sitting room. There was a bathroom and five bedrooms that appeared behind the six doors that lined the room. Within the suite, Elaina, Maggie, Pete, Victor and Kegan, were given rooms. On either side of the suite, there were more bedrooms, which were divided between Brittany, Colin and Marchette. They'd just sorted out who got which of the five suite bedrooms, Elaina of course getting first dibs, when Jordan walked in with two of his bodyguards.

"Is everyone here?" he asked Maggie. His niece nodded. He motioned for one of his men to shut and lock the door. "I want all of you to understand why we are here," he said softly, looking around the room at each person, his gaze resting longest on Nikoli Marchette and his sister. "We are here to reforge a weakened alliance with the Neskabs. This is not a pleasure trip, nor is it one where our image may be tarnished by foolish actions. The allegiance of the Neskabs has been weak since Allison's revolt, so we must step with caution. _Everything _lies on getting this contract finalized." He looked around the room again. "If I hear of any misbehavior, you will not only be on the first flight to Cordalla, but you'll be answering directly to Lord Nichelle, have I made myself clear?" His voice had more of a snap to it, and his eyes whipped to Victor.

Everyone looked at the floor, excepting Elaina, and murmured, "Yes, my lord." Elaina just looked troubled. She wondered what happened to make Jordan look at Victor.

"Now," Jordan continued, "up until this point, Elaina Nichelle has been considered dead. We must keep the miracle of her life within the family, in fact, within this room. The Neskabs are known to have loose tongues and they have been known to slip information to the Danalli. So for now, Maggie is the object of the Contract. She _and_ Elaina will attend the negotiations." He paused, "is there any questions?" He looked around. The room was still and silent. To his sister and niece he said, "Get yourselves cleaned up. Deliberations begin in two hours." He turned on his heal and strode out, his bodyguard pulling the door shut behind him.

As soon as the door clicked the room exploded with sound as people regained their courage to talk. Maggie swore. "The Neskabs sure wanna give us time to prepare for the discussions." She groaned loudly. "Not only do I have to get dressed, but I have to make sure you know what the hell is going on!" She said to her aunt.

Taking her by the hand, Maggie dragged Elaina into her bedroom, wrenching the closet open. In a frenzied manner, she started pulling clothes from there. One after another, articles of clothing ended up in a pile on the floor. Finally, she pulled something out that pleased her. "Here," she said, turning to her aunt, tossing the shirt to her, "This'll do."

Elaina caught it easily. "What else am I wearing?" she asked, looking at the rather large pile of discarded items. Maggie stared at her as if she'd sprouted a second head spontaneously. "Its just a shirt," Elaina pointed out, waving it in front of her niece. "I'm _going _to wear pants when I meet these people." Maggie was still staring at her. "What?" Elaina snapped.

"It's a dress," Maggie simply said. "And it's not for you."

Elaina was plain confused. "I'm not wearing this?" she asked.

Maggie snorted. "No," she laughed. "I'm wearing it."

"Oh," Elaina said, slightly taken aback. In her opinion, the dress was rather slutty. It was rather high-cut, but the skirt would have barely passed Maggie's thighs. Indeed, when she put it on, it might as well of just been a shirt. Some of Elaina's inner thoughts must have shown on her face, because Maggie scoffed a little and pulled on a pair of black leggings.

"There. Are you happy now?" she asked, holding out her hands and turning on the spot.

Elaina grinned nervously. The Amazonian princess looked stunning; seductive and feminine, rather than smutty and whorish. The brilliant cranberry red dress contrasted beautifully with Maggie's blond hair and blue eyes, and the black leggings merged with her knee-high boots, making them appear to extend up into the dress. "What am I wearing?" Elaina asked.

Maggie tossed her aunt a pair of sensible dress pants. That's where the conservatism ended. Next, she passed a rather transparent, lacy green t-shirt, with puffy sleeves, that was a delicate lime green. To go over the shirt, was an article best described as a corset. It was a woodsy brown, and contrasted with the green in a lovely fashion, but was all rather revealing. The tight laces of the corset pushed her breasts together and lifted them, so ample cleavage peeked out from the green shirt's swooping, rounded neckline. Her stiletto ankle boots added height to her stature and sway to her step.

Elaina grimaced in the mirror as she surveyed herself. "What's wrong?" Maggie asked jokingly.

Elaina made a face. "I'm here partly to testify that I wasn't asking for Liam Neskab to rape me. I don't think this is the best thing to wear," she answered.

Maggie looked confused. "Why not?" she asked incredulously. "You look hot!"

Elaina laughed tiredly. "Hot is _not_ what you want when you're trying to convince someone that you're after sex," she replied, raising an eyebrow, finally turning away from the mirror. "Is there something else I could wear?"

For the next ten minutes, Maggie and Elaina argued out what she would and would not wear. Finally, it was decided to keep the dress pants, wear flats, and wear a vividly blue wrap shirt that was accented with green embroidered leaves.

By the time Jordan had returned to get them for the Deliberations, Maggie and the rest of the posse had prepped Elaina as well as they could have. Elaina felt a thrill of terror as her brother led them down the corridor to the conference room. Within, there were three people already seated at the table, with Faithfuls arranged around the room. Elaina instantly knew them all from the descriptions of her little gang.

Seated closest to the door was Marissa Neskab, Liam's older sister, and the second in line to the Neskab title. The Neskab's heir, Lawrence, who'd had some spat with his parents, was absent. Marissa was kindly looking, though her features were harshly pointed and sharp. She looked rather disinterested in the entire proceedings, but was the only of the Neskabs to smile as the Nichelles filed into the room.

Mathew Neskab was the only man in the room, excepting some of the Faithfuls. He looked rather like Liam, but he didn't have the same malicious glint in his eye. Instead he looked tired and worn, as if a great stress had been on his shoulders for an insurmountable length of time. He was very handsome, but his age and world-weariness showed, detracting slightly from his appeal.

Then there was Alison Reich. It was clear who she was. The air around her seemed to hum, as she demanded respect from others of the room. Never mind that Mathew had all the power; Alison was the true leader of the Neskab family. Of any Pure Blood Elaina had met, Alison would have been the least attractive. She looked rather rat-like, with a pointed nose and chin, and small, beady eyes that seemed to see everything. She sat erect at the center of the wide oval table, watching Jordan and Maggie with a look of distain, even though they both far outranked her. Elaina was apparently beneath her scrutiny, for Alison never looked her way.

The three rose from their seats, Alison slightly slower than the others, and gave small bows. "Welcome once more to Haljir, once more, Jordan and Margaret," Alison said. She gestured to the two chairs directly across from her and her husband. "Please, sit." Jordan sat in the proffered seat, but Maggie pulled her chair out and stepped back. She jerked her head slightly at Elaina, who took the hint, as well as the hint. Alison looked mystified. "I'm sorry, and who are you?" she asked, barely politely.

Jordan raised and eyebrow and said, "Allow me to introduce Elaina Nichelle. Oldest daughter of Lord Zachariah Neskab, and Heir-of-the-Heir of the League of Nichelle." Alison was speechless. Elaina tried to look important. "It is with Elaina that your son seems to have had a, what was it you called it?" he asked mockingly. "Misunderstanding?" Elaina stared accusingly.

"Well," Alison, a flicker of doubt crossing her face for an instant. "Boys will be boys. And you know how things are among the young people. They're always experimenting."

Elaina raised her eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. She was exceptionally glad now that she hadn't worn Maggie's choice outfit. It would have ruined her credibility, as well as making her look hypocritical. So instead she channeled the cool Agent that she'd been schooled to be, allowing contempt to show in her features enough to allow her opposition and skepticism. "Of course," she replied, sarcasm roughening her voice. "That must have been what he was doing."

Alison sneered, "Perhaps he misread the signals you gave him," she put a great deal of emphasis on the words 'misread' and 'signals.'

Elaina wanted to reach across the table and throttle her. Less than two minutes she'd been in the room, and already she knew she hated Alison Reich. Thankfully, before Elaina could retort, Jordan cut in, "Madam, perhaps it is unwise to insult my sister. She is still rather young, and prone to violence. And we wouldn't want anyone to get hurt." His tone implied he didn't care if there was injury. "Now," he continued, in a businesslike tone, "I believe that the candidates you've put forward for the contract are inappropriate."

Alison looked 'shocked.' "How so, sir?" she asked, faux astonishment colouring her tone.

Jordan gave her a look that indicated that he knew she knew the candidates were also unworthy, and wasn't impressed with her theatrics. "You've proposed no one related closer than a grandchild, they are all incredibly young and therefore inexperienced. I also know that there are older Neskabs who are perfectly able to join the contract; your husband is among them. Also, four of the candidates proposed only align with my sister's Time of Fertility for under twelve hours." He cocked an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest. "I'd like to see your other options."

"Yeah, Alison," a somewhat familiar voice said from the doorway. "Show him the other options."

Alison's face drained of all its cockiness and filled with fury as she surveyed the figure at the door. "You," she hissed, livid. "What are _you _doing here?"

Confused, the Nichelles turned in their chairs. Elaina nearly leapt to her feet to attack him, confusing him for Liam Neskab. They looked so similar. They had the same bone structure, making their faces so near to the same. But this man had blue eyes, brilliant sapphire blue, and his hair was a mop of tight coal curls. He was sneering slightly at Alison, giving him an evil-sexy look. He flopped down into the chair next to Elaina and extended his hand.

"Lawrence Neskab," he said, shaking Elaina's arm. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself better earlier, but I wanted to surprise dear mother." He grinned at his mother, who wore a murderous expression. Now Elaina realized how she knew the voice. He was her vanished guide. She smiled tentatively back, unsure. Releasing Elaina, he leaned around and nodded at Jordan, murmuring "Sir." He grinned at Maggie and half waved.

"What are you doing here?" Alison snarled through gritted teeth.

"Well," Lawrence mused, "you lose all brain function when it comes to my dear baby brother. So, I took it upon myself to help you see the light." He grinned again. He glanced down the table at his sister. "Sorry to bring you into this for nothing, sis."

Marissa shrugged. "Does this mean I can leave?"

Lawrence made a face. "Best not to. Mother may send a hit man after you. Seeing how desperately she wants to get Liam out of another jam, and place him in our spot. He can only get the position if both of us are gone." To his mother he said, "must suck to have your favorite child come in third." He smirked, "or rather, come out." Marissa snorted, but wiped her face blank when her mother shot a glare at her.

The room fell silent under the burden of hate that channeled between mother and son. Elaina briefly wondered what could have been done to sew such a powerful seed. The room crackled with electricity. Glancing around the room, Elaina read the emotions as bemused, being Maggie, calculating, in Jordan's case, resigned from Marissa, and tired from Mathew Neskab. Lawrence looked relaxed, but anger sizzled hotly in his eyes. Alison was livid and not hiding it at all.

Clearing his throat, Jordan broke the silence. "Perhaps we should reconvene late?" he suggested, getting to his feet.

"Perhaps that would be wise," Mathew Neskab said tiredly, getting to his feet as well. "We seem to be rather indisposed at the moment." He glanced hopelessly from his wife to his son.

"Tomorrow then," Jordan said, turning on his heal and strolling out, his sister and niece right behind him. Once they reached Elaina's apartments and were settled, did Jordan allow the satisfaction to show in his features.

"What are you so happy about, Uncle?" Victor asked, flopping down on the couch next to him.

Jordan smiled calculatingly. "The Neskab Heir has arrived."

Slowly, an evil grin spread over Victor's face. "Excellent," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Let the chaos begin."

"What exactly was going on there?" Elaina asked, highly confused.

"Nobody will ever truly understands why, but Lawrence blames his children's deaths on his mother." Colin explained, dropping onto the couch opposite next to them. "You see, about six hundred years or so ago, Alison Reich decided to the family should from the League of Nichelle. They assassinated a few high ranking Nichelle children and started a war. Finally, your Father beat them down, and as punishment, he killed all Neskab children who were yet to be Awoken. Lawrence's first born daughter and son, ages nineteen and six, respectively, were killed."

"Oh," Elaina said quietly, suddenly saddened. "So he blames his mother, and not Father? Why?"

"Because, if mother hadn't been so ambitious, my children would be alive," Lawrence said, striding in through the open door. "I don't blame Lord Nichelle because I would have done the same in a similar situation. Also," he continued, "dearest Liam, who is five months younger than my daughter was, was Awoken two months before the retribution." A look a fury passed over his handsome features, "He was Awoken two years ahead of schedule." With a hard expression, he added, "She knew that Lord Nichelle would do something like what he did. She protected him, and didn't warn me."

The room was silent. It remained so until Lawrence turned to Elaina and asked, "Would you like to walk with me? I assure you it'll be safe."

Elaina, unsure, glanced at her brother. He gave her a minute nod. Hesitantly, she got to her feet, waving her entourage back to their seats as they rose to follow. She intuitively knew that Lawrence wanted to talk with her alone.

The pair walked in silence for a while. It was rather awkward. "I'm sorry about your children," she said quietly, not knowing what else to say.

Lawrence smiled sadly, all traces of the cockiness washed off his features. "Thank you. That's important, coming from a Nichelle." He fell silent for a moment, before suddenly asking, "Did my brother really attack you, or did you lead him on?"

Elaina stopped dead in her tracks. Fury bubbled in her veins. "If you're implying that I _lied_, then you are quite mistaken, _Neskab_," she snarled.

Lawrence looked apologetic. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, holding his hands out in a peace offering. "I knew I'd determine your true character from the question. Forgive my insensitivity." Elaina glared some more, but fell back into step with him.

"Why did you bring me out here?" she asked as they rounded another corner.

Lawrence shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I wanted to spend some quality time with someone who hates my brother as much as me," he joked.

Elaina could see that he was baiting her, but she walked into the trap anyways. "Why do you hate your brother?" she sighed.

"Because my children died, and he became mommy's precious little angle," he said bitterly.

Elaina was flabbergasted. "You're not telling me that _you_ want to be doted upon by _your_ mother?" she asked in amazement.

Lawrence snorted, realizing what he'd said, "Oh god no." He shuddered. "No," he became quiet. He looked at Elaina and there was a great hurt in his eyes. "Its been hundreds of years, Elaina," he sadly said, "Since I was forced to bury my children. Hundreds of years since I felt any affection for my mother." His face twisted. "She's never even said she was sorry. Did you know that?" He turned to the younger woman, his eyes manic with sorrow. "Hundreds of years since she caused my children's deaths, and not once has she claimed responsibility. Instead, she dotes upon Liam, ever so thankful for his survival, and has completely forgotten her grandchildren. And Liam," he snarled, his voice hard and violent, "is perfectly content to be a lapdog. He wields his power over others as a cat does as it plays with a trapped mouse. When I learned of what he did to James, I wanted to kill the bastard. But mother," he snarled, "didn't lift a finger against him. Father, the useless puppet that he is, barely did anything to chastise Liam, merely lecturing at him for about ten minutes, and then sent him on a boring diplomatic mission. He barely acknowledged his other son's pain either." He trailed off, fuming.

As silence stretched between them, something that Lawrence had said clicked in Elaina's mind. "What do you mean, other son? You mean you?"

Lawrence barked a bitter laugh. "No," he replied, "I meant James."

Stopping in shock, Elaina blurted out, "But James is a Half-Blood!"  
Stopping as well, Lawrence smiled wearily at Elaina's confusion. "Yes," he assured her, "James is a Half-Blood. He is the son of my father, and a human woman named Liza." Elaina groaned in disbelief. She'd slept with a man, then had his half brother rape her hours later. It was disgusting. She couldn't believe that James shared half the genes of that dipshit. Lawrence saw her expression and laughed again. "You look so happy to hear about my brother," he chuckled. "Let me guess," he prodded, "You slept with him." Elaina stayed silent. That was enough. Lawrence roared with laughter, clutching a stitch in his side. "Well," he wheezed, finally regaining his composure, "you certainly know the Neskab men intimately."

Elaina looked away, tears forming in her eyes. "I didn't ask for either of their attention," she whispered.

Lawrence instantly sobered up. "Elaina," he breathed, laying a large hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I was insensitive." Elaina looked up and saw the sincerity in his eyes. An awkward silence filled the corridor. "Did James…?" he trailed off.

"Rape me?" Elaina finished. She gave a bitter smile. "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have screwed him. But it defiantly wasn't rape."

"What do you mean _normal circumstances_?" he probed, a furrow forming on his brow.

Elaina smiled disapprovingly. "James was demonstrating the proper techniques for painless bloodletting. Things got out of hand." She shrugged, "not that he did anything to stop them, even though he was very capable."

"Oh," Lawrence said quietly. There was silence once more. He snorted half-heartedly suddenly, "God, you must have such a bleak opinion of us Neskabs." He shook his head. "Fine job my brothers have done to preserve our name."

Elaina couldn't help but smile. "Indeed," she joked, chuckling weakly.

"Elaina," Lawrence said, serious suddenly. "Let me make it up to you."

Confused, Elaina's features twisted. "What?" she asked, flabbergasted.

"Let me help you," he begged. "Let me prove to you not all Neskabs are asses." He clutched her shoulders. "Save yourself from whatever rat or snake my parents plan to set you with, and choose me!"

"What are you saying, Lawrence?" Elaina asked slowly.

Lawrence shook her. "Let me be your chosen candidate for the Child Contact!"


	45. Air Nichelle

_**omg...what was totally intended to be like a month hiatus became more than a year and a half long break! I am super greatful for all the people who reviewed and added me to their favourites when I was stuck in a mental rut. I hope that you still enjoy my story and that i'll be able to update it much more frequently (but really, ANYTHING is better than a 18 month wait). i promise you won't have to wair 18 more months for my next update!**_

**_If there are any discrepancies in the story, i'm sorry. It's been a long time since i've worked on it, that i may have forgotten some of my original details._**

**_Thanks again to everyone...keep the reviews coming! - Julianne_**

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Elaina shuffled through the stack of papers that lay on the small table situated between her brother and herself. As Heir-to-the-Heir of the League of Nichelle, and being presumed dead for so many years, there was a great deal that she'd have to learn before she could come close to fulfilling her duties to her family and the League. So she sat across from her brother, Jordan, in a cushy seat on one of the Nichelle private planes, going over the paperwork for the Child Contract she and Jordan had just negotiated, en route to Cordalla at last.

They had been in Haljhir for two weeks, attempting to hammer out a complete and proper Child Contract between Elaina and Lawrence Neskab. In the beginning, it had gone far from smoothly. Alison Reich was furious that Elaina had decided she wanted Lawrence for her Child Contract. She'd done basically everything in her power to undermine the negotiations of the contract, at one point threatening war against the Nichelle family. However, with Jordan's smooth peacemaking skills, he was able to come up with a solution to placate the enraged Neskab matriarch.

The usual rules of a Child Contract were such that the resulting baby goes into the father's custody after they've been Awoken. However, should the mother be of a higher rank than the father, she retains custody. The unfortunate situation resulting from a Contract between Elaina and Lawrence was that they were of nearly equivalent rank. Elaina was the Second Heir of the League of Nichelle, but Lawrence was the Heir to the Neskab family. This equated to approximately the same thing. Therefore a problem arose, as it was unclear of who would claim the child.

Alison Reich was adamant that the child be given to Lawrence after their Awakening. Jordan was insistent that Elaina should keep the child. Both were seeing it as a scheme to keep the other family on a tight leash. Lawrence however, after two days of argument, pulled Elaina aside and told her, "What sort of man would I be to take your first born child? I offer you custody of the child, provided I am still permitted to see them." Elaina agreed in an instant.

Alison did also not like that part of the arrangement. Not only was she cheated for choosing a father, but she didn't even get control over the resulting child. In times of dispute between the families, the arranged parents, should they agree, got to determine guardianship of their unborn offspring. Alison got very little say, and she loathed her son even more for that.

In order to appease the leaders of the Neskab family, there were two more Child Contracts drafted. One was nearly certain to be carried through though. Jordan was to enter a Contract with Marissa Neskab, the Second Heir to the Neskab family, and their resulting offspring would remain in the Neskab's care. The date was set for sometime in the next New Year. The second Child Contract, a more tentative deal, was set between one of Jordan's daughters, and another of Mathew Neskab's sons. However the Times of Virility and Fertility were such that they may not align and a child could not be conceived. There was speculation of Mathew Neskab entering into a Contract with a Nichelle female, but Alison quickly put a stop to it.

As Elaina was looking over the documents that she and Lawrence had signed two days previous, she grew a notch more apprehensive about the entire affair. Although she was certainly no virgin, the entire thing seemed so daunting. She'd spent some time with Lawrence, and had discovered just how old he truly was. It wasn't even just his age, but his experiences and his mannerisms. He was hundreds of years older than her mere nineteen years. He'd had hundreds of years of sexual experiences, and Elaina had had just over four years. She was suddenly afraid of embarrassing herself, or not being able to 'perform' to his expectations.

"What's wrong?" Jordan asked gently. "You've been chewing your lip for the last five minutes, at least. If that's not an indication that something is bothering you, then I don't know what is."

Elaina looked at her brother over the top of her page. "It's nothing," she assured him. "I'm just being silly, worrying about stupid things."

Jordan smiled kindly. He dropped his stack of papers on the table and reached across the gap to take his sister's hand. "To worry is to be considering a situation with some level of intelligence," Jordan assured her. "Tell me what is worrying you."

Elaina smiled in return. "That's very sweet Jordan," she said, "but really, it's just the vain mind of a teenager considering whether her pride will be hurt or not. Merely the self-conscious musings of a teenage girl," she laughed lightly. "I'm alright. Really," she assured him, squeezing his hand gently before letting it fall. She turned her attention back to her papers, before casually asking, "So what will happen after the baby is born?"

Jordan sat back in his seat, linking his fingers together. "Well, that really depends on how you choose to raise the child," he began. "If you wish the child to grow up in as safe of an environment as possible, then the best option would be to send them into hiding while they're still an infant. We could possibly orchestrate a switch, much like the one Father and your Mother did, but there are various complications that arise from such things. You may also choose to send the child to one of the family nurseries. They are hidden places with carefully selected staff and tutors, where Pure Blood, and some Half Blood, children can grow up among their own kind. In addition to those options, you could also go into seclusion with the child, until you've grown tired of parenting and you send them to a nursery. This last option isn't entirely appropriate for you though."

"Why not?" Elaina asked, confused. She seemed to think the third option was the least clinical of them all.

Jordan sighed. "You are the long lost daughter of Zachariah Nichelle," he explained, "and there is a lifetime of knowledge that you have not had imparted. We don't have the time to waste as you hide away with your child, as attractive as that may sound to you. We cannot afford to not have you introduced to your duties any later than necessary. As my Heir, you need to be ready to fill my shoes in the event that I am unable to fulfill my duties." In response to watching Elaina's face fall, he added, "you will be permitted to see the child often. We simply cannot have all your time monopolized by them, is the case. Do you understand?"

Elaina nodded, a little crestfallen. "I get it," she replied. "This is one of those _do your duty for your family_ things. It's much like what I had to do before. It was the Organization before your own personal needs." She shrugged in defeat.

"What's this about the Organization?" Lawrence Neskab asked, as he slid into the seat next to Elaina.

"Nothing," Elaina replied. "It's not important." She turned in her seat to face Lawrence, before asking, "How long do you intend to stay in Cordalla?"

Jordan chuckled. "Lawrence here is an enigma," Jordan explained. "He actually stays with the woman of his Contract until well after the child is born."

Elaina was shocked. "That's _unusual_?" she asked, flabbergasted.

Both Jordan and Lawrence burst out laughing at the young woman's expression. At that, Jordan excused himself, and headed into one of the tiny offices located further back in the plane, chuckling as he walked.

Once he'd calmed himself, Lawrence explained, "Quite often, the father arrives within three weeks of the Contract being carried out. Once the deed is done, he, more often than not, will leave within a few days." He slung his arm around Elaina's shoulders and added, "You won't be rid of me that easily though." He laughed jovially again, rocking them from side to side. "I stay until the baby is born," he told her, bouncing into the seat across from her, so they could better speak to each other, "I also don't like knowing the gender or being decided on a name before the child is born either, but I'm just old fashioned." He shrugged, and genially added, "If you really want to know the gender and choose a name, that's fine, but I reserve the right to veto any horrid names you come up with."

Elaina became mockingly indignant at the last comment. "Horrid names?" she repeated in false offence. "I assure you, our child will only be named Quinnethwren, regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl. And if you don't like that, you can suck it!"

Lawrence threw his head back and roared with laughter. Elaina's facade of severity cracked as she too collapsed giggled. Between gasped breaths, Lawrence managed to ask, "Do you actually _know_ someone _named_ Quinnethwren? Male or female?"

Elaina, through her laughter said, "No, and if I did, they'd better be orphans, because_ I'd kill_ my parents if they stuck me with Quinnethwren for a name!"

Lawrence laughed harder at that. Once the pair had finally settled down, Lawrence brushed the tears that had formed in the corner of his eye away and said, "I think we'll get along just fine, Miss Nichelle. You seem to at least have a _moderate_ sense of humour, so at least the conversation will be interesting." He smirked wickedly, widening it into a grin when Elaina stuck her tongue out at him. His brow furrowed slightly and he became serious when he went on to ask, "What were you saying about the Organization earlier?"

"Oh," Elaina said, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze. She hadn't told him that she had been Agent Jaden Korr before coming to the attention of the Nichelle family. She'd let him assume that, yes she'd lived among humans, but it was in more of a foster family that was under the control of the League of Nichelle. By Jordan's advice, she was keeping her true past a secret, in order to prevent distrust among her peers. "Uh, it was nothing important, I was just mentioning it in passing," she said lamely.

Lawrence raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly, "I know that it was more than that, Elaina," he said good-humouredly. He however shrugged it off and said, "I'd like to know, but I understand if you want to keep certain things to yourself. We're business partners, not a couple. We don't need to divulge everything about ourselves."

Elaina smiled gratefully, "Thank you Lawrence," she said sincerely. "There are some things I'd like to keep private, because it's better if they stay that way."

He shrugged again and made a non-committal noise that sounded like "meh," before swooping up some of the paper work that Jordan and Elaina had been studying. "Did you realize," he asked with a smile, "that you haven't signed your name the same way twice in any of these documents?" He tilted the page that he was looking at so that Elaina could see it better. It was one that she'd signed about half a dozen times, and he was exactly right. She hadn't signed her name the same way for any of them.

She grinned helplessly and said, "I've known I was Elaina Nichelle for all of three weeks. That was essentially the first time I've had to write my name. I wasn't even really sure of how it was spelt."

Lawrence laughed again. Elaina liked his laugh. It was buoyant and infectious. The way a laugh should be. But it also had a seductive undertone, one that added to his rather sexual aura. From what she'd learned of Lawrence Neskab, he was a playboy with a heart of gold. He'd been with many, many, many women; some for Contracts, some for purely carnal reasons. However, none of his affairs overlapped, and none of the ones Elaina inquired about had ended badly. She was incredibly relieved that he was an option for a Child Contract, that he was available, and that he'd so willingly offered himself for it.

He did admit earlier in the week though that he was doing it partly for selfish reasons. He told her that he had two selfish reasons. He first wanted to deprive his mother of as much of her power as he possibly could, the easiest way to do so would be to enter a high ranking Child Contract and deny her control over the child. The second reason, he told her with a jokingly sultry look, was that he loved hearing women scream his name in the throes of passion, and they were constantly in throes of passion during their Time of Fertility. Elaina was only half sure he was joking about the second reason; there had been many, many, many women after all.

Lawrence was just recovering his composure when Maggie strolled over. "Hey," she said, pausing next to Lawrence's seat. "Uncle says that if you aren't needing these documents, he'll take them now so that they're all together when we land."

"That sounds fine," Elaina said, leaning forward to help Maggie arrange the scattered mess of papers into an orderly pile. "When _will_ we be landing?" she asked once they'd organized the mess, with Lawrence's added help. "I realize I sound like a child saying "_are we there yet_," but really...are we there yet?"

Lawrence snorted and Maggie grinned. "I think," Maggie said kindly, "we're about half an hour away. Would you like something to drink to hold you over?"

"Umm..." Elaina said hesitantly. She was still rather unpractised at drinking blood in a semi-public setting, and usually moved to a more private area to drink to avoid embarrassment. However, she was enjoying Lawrence's company rather thoroughly, and didn't want to remove herself from their current seating arrangement.

Lawrence, with his heart of gold, sensed Elaina's dilemma and asked politely and quietly, "Would you like to move our conversation elsewhere?" Elaina's relief and gratitude must have shown quite obviously on her face because he grinned widely at her as he got to his feet, extending his arm to her as he led her to a private room towards the tail of the plane. He even held the door open for her when they reached the room, and discretely waved Maggie off, before closing the door behind himself.

The room was larger than Jordan's temporary office, across the narrow hall from them. It was technically a conference room, but only about five people could have comfortably sat around the table squashed into the small room. In one corner was a small refrigerator, where a small blood supply was kept for entertainment purposes. It allowed business to be conducted in complete private, without needing to send out for sustenance. The walls were panelled with polished wood, stained the same colour as the table, and the carpet was a deep maroon. The eight, or so, chairs that were set up around the table were well cushioned leather seats that were bolted to the floor, like the table, so that there were no mishaps during the flight.

As Elaina slid into one of the seats as Lawrence surveyed the blood supply in the refrigerator. After some internal deliberation, he selected a bottle and two glasses, bringing it over to the table. He placed the glasses and the bottle before Elaina, and perched on the edge of the table next to her. As he filled their glasses, he observed Elaina's fangs jut out from below her upper lip, and asked, "How long has it been since you were Awoken, Elaina?" Elaina's eyes were fixed hungrily on the glasses, and Lawrence had to repeat her name twice to get her attention. Once she'd torn her eyes away from the blood, he observed, "You're only a few months old, aren't you?"

Elaina swallowed hard, her eyes closing briefly, as she attempted to regain some self-control. It had been a few days since she'd had anything, and close to a week since she'd fed. People kept forgetting that she didn't know how to properly hunt, and that she was still young enough to be susceptible to blood lust induced Blood Rage. After regaining some composure, Elaina nodded. "I was Awoken on Halloween. With this being the second week of February, I'm about three and a half months old."

"Jesus Christ," Lawrence swore, shaking his head. "You're family is sure taking a risk having you away from your father so long." Elaina frowned in askance. Lawrence passed her a glass of blood, instructing, "drink this slowly. I know you want to drain it, but drink _slowly_." The instant his hand moved to the glass, Elaina's attention snapped back to the blood. He kept one hand on the cup, tilting it so that she couldn't drink too quickly. She still drank too quickly and wildly for his liking. When he pulled the glass from her limp fingers, her eyes were squeezed shut and her chest was heaving.

He silently cursed the Nichelles who had been put in charge of watching over her. At three months, a Pure Blood was volatile and dangerous when not given enough to drink, easily lapsing into Blood Rage when overly stimulated. He was surprised that she hadn't yet. The young woman had an immense amount of self control, undoubtedly. If she hadn't possessed that control, however, she could have caused irreparable damage and unknown casualties. Young Turned vampires needed to drink at least once every two days, and feed a few times a week in their first six months or so. Newly Awoken Pure Bloods typically needed to drink about once a day and feed, in the very least, once every three days or so. This occasion, however, was the first time he'd seen the young woman consume any blood, and her reaction suggested that she hadn't drunk in days. Her level of control was astounding for any age; and his respect for her increased tenfold.

"Elaina," he said gently, kneeling down beside her, swivelling her chair so that she faced him. Her eyes snapped open instantly. Red was bleeding into her irises as she began losing her battle with blood lust. "Alright Elaina," Lawrence said carefully, "I can tell you're thirsty, but I need you to stay calm, alright? Can you do that?" The girl's only response was clenching her jaw momentarily. "I'm going to give you a little more, but I need you to be calm, can you do that?" He asked, his eyes never leaving her. She didn't answer him, she only proceeded to hyperventilate further, her lips parting to reveal fully extended fangs as she panted hungrily, her eyes roving from his face to his throat and back. The brown in her eyes was gone, replaced with hungry, demonic crimson. However, the pupils remained, so she was merely suffering blood lust, and not Rage. That was something to be grateful for. Not even Jordan's blood could placate her if she fell into Rage, and Lawrence didn't know where the supply of Zachariah's blood was located in the plane.

Without breaking eye contact, Lawrence poured half of the second glass of blood into the first, and moved the full bottle out of Elaina's reach. As soon as the glass entered Elaina's peripheral vision, she snapped all attention to it and attempted to snatch it from Lawrence's hand. He jerked it out of reach, and she snarled angrily at him. "Woah," he said soothingly, "take it easy. You can have it; you just have to be nice about it, okay?" Elaina made no attempt at a response beyond growling softly. Lawrence kept both hands on the glass, and put more effort this time into making her drink it slowly. It took her twice as long to finish it, with his help. He was, unfortunately, becoming intoxicated by her blood lust, and he was beginning to feel its effects on himself. So when he drained the remaining half full glass of blood, faster than he would have liked, he was gasping when he brought the empty glass away from his lips. It was in this inebriated state that he remained for a moment, facing Elaina, panting at a rate similar to her own.

"More. Please," Elaina begged breathlessly. She was leaning forward, invading Lawrence's personal space. He suddenly realized his error in kneeling practically between her legs, as she was appealing to all his senses currently, and not all his body was focused on _blood_ lust. "Please," she whispered again, a scant inch from his face, her eyes sliding shut. Lawrence attempted to keep as close to her as possible, his eyes never leaving her face as he fumbled to fill a glass for her. He was so enraptured that he didn't attempt to keep it away from her, or to slow her as she threw the glass back, some of the crimson liquid spilling out the corner of her mouth.

Acting entirely without though, Lawrence surged forward the rest of the distance between them, his tongue running from her collarbone to the corner of her lips, following the trail of blood that ran down her chin. He forcefully pressed his mouth to hers, relishing at the moan he elicited from her. Instantly, Elaina's fingers wove themselves into his dark curls, and Lawrence's arms slipped around her waist, pulling her closer to the edge of the chair. Closer to him.

Lawrence's head was spinning and he was losing all control of himself. The blood he tasted on Elaina's tongue drove him mad, as did the fresh blood that flowed when his was sliced open on someone's, he wasn't sure whose, fangs. Instinctively, he rocked his hips against hers, causing Elaina to break their kiss with a loud gasp, her eyes flying open to stare into his.

Lawrence was certain that his eyes were as red as hers. He'd been stupid and had not fed properly in around a week, probably more. As a result, he was spiralling out of control with the young Nichelle, his head reeling as he attempted to regain some level of composure. Elaina had other plans though, as she crushed her lips against his once more, rolling her hips to meet his, extracting a grunt from him.

As Lawrence was becoming more and more aroused, a tiny part of his brain was screaming at him to stop. He had to stop. The state of affairs between the Neskabs and Nichelles were too delicate to damage in a haze of blood lust. He knew that all too well. The last thing he could afford was angering the Nichelles by fucking the Heir-of-the-Heir because he was too inebriated by blood lust to keep himself from taking advantage of the very situation he was in. Thus that tiny voice became louder.

"Elaina," Lawrence gasped, more breathlessly than he'd intended, because the woman had found a particularly sensitive part on his neck and she had wrapped her legs around him, planting her feet between his knees. Lawrence had to stop. He roughly seized her hips to still them and growled, "Elaina. Stop." Elaina laughed seductively in his ear and attempted to kiss him again, but he brought his hand up between their faces. "Please stop," he said, calmer than he was truly feeling. With that, he jerked himself free from her grip and moved to the chair behind him.

The hurt showed in her eyes at that, and it was enough to sap the red from them, returning them to their normal dark, chocolate hue. Her features crumbled from seductive to embarrassment and distress. She looked at the floor, her lower lip quivering slightly. "Why am I becoming like this?" she asked, most likely a rhetorical question, as she seemed to be addressing her feet. She looked up at Lawrence, and her eyes were over bright. "I never used to be this way," she exclaimed mournfully. "You must think I'm so easy and stupid," she muttered, rubbing her eyes with frustration. "No wonder James was able to get me to sleep with him. I've become such a whore!" She hid her face in her hands and her shoulders shook slightly.

"Hey, don't be that way," Lawrence said kindly, moving once more to kneel before her. He managed to worm his hand between hers and pulled lightly on her chin, forcing her to drop her hands and look at him. "If you recall, I _was_ the one who started all that," he reminded her, with a gentle smile. Her own returning grimace was watery and miserable. "Elaina," he said sympathetically, "You're so incredibly hormonally unbalanced right now that I was incredibly foolish to even think of trying that. It was _I_ who took advantage of the situation, and was attempting to _use_ _you_ for my own self-gratification. Understand?"

Elaina made a disbelieving face. "I just can't seem to control myself anymore," she said tearfully. "I feel like I'm spiralling out of control, and there is no way to tell which way is up and which is down. I'm so," she paused, squeezing her eyes tightly shut before she continued; "I'm so _thirsty_, all the time. And that scares me." She opened her eyes again, "I don't want to be some sort of monster, but I seem completely incapable of _not_ becoming one."

"Elaina," Lawrence pressed gently, "When was the last time you drank?" When she hesitated, Lawrence pressed harder, "When did you last drink?"

Elaina thought for a moment. "The day that your mother and sister were yelling at each other," she said after a little deliberation.

"What?" Lawrence cried, surging to his feet. "That was four days ago!" he exclaimed. "My god, when was the last time you actually fed, from a breathing, kicking body?" he demanded.

"Um," Elaina thought for another moment. "I guess it was Tuesday," she decided after thinking it through.

"'Tuesday', as in two days ago?" Lawrence asked, attempting on keeping the anger from his voice, "Or 'Tuesday', as in more than a _week_ ago?" When she hesitated again, he snapped, "Elaina, are you telling me you haven't fed for more than a _week_?"

"I guess," Elaina whispered cowering into her seat as Lawrence gazed furiously down at her.

Lawrence swore and viciously stabbed at the intercom button in the middle of the table, calming himself enough to sound polite when he said, "My lord, would you please join us in the conference room," after Jordan answered his phone. Jordan was striding in the door seconds later, his expression becoming rather bemused when he observed the rather rumpled state of the other occupants of the room.

However, Jordan's amusement disappeared when he noticed Lawrence's thunderous expression. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice becoming steely.

"My lord," Lawrence said, as evenly as he could, "Was there anyone assigned to watch young Elaina here? Was there anyone whose duty it was to be certain she was taken properly care of?" Though he tried, his voice sounded a bit more than accusatory.

Jordan's frown deepened, "Yes," he replied coldly. "Maggie and some of the other younger Nichelles were charged with overseeing my sister. Why?" His eyes darted to Elaina. "Elaina, what is going on?" he demanded.

"It would seem," Lawrence said heatedly, "that no one has been made aware of the fact that, as a Pure Blood less than _four months_ from Awakening, your sister needs to be drinking blood on more than a semi-weekly basis. She hasn't properly fed in _nine days_!" Lawrence had dropped all pretence of decorum and was gesturing wildly by the time he'd said _four months_. The look Jordan was levelling on him caused him to drop his hands and instantly sober up. "Sir," he said, much more calmly, "your sister isn't being properly attended to, in my opinion."

"You do have a part of that right," Jordan said coldly, "however: there is some blame to be placed in my dear sister as well." He turned his face back to Elaina, who'd shrunk as small as she could into her seat. "You, my dear," he said slowly, "are hardly voicing any complaints, when it comes to your level of thirst." Elaina flinched a little and mumbled something, which enraged Jordan more. "I have yet to see you _ask_ for blood," Jordan snapped, "you only drink when someone _asks you_ if you want any. Am I right?" Elaina nodded ever so slightly. "Why," he asked forcefully, "are you gambling with all of our lives in such a reckless manner?"

Elaina looked up at him, confused. "I don't understand," she said in a small voice.

"By allowing yourself to become as thirsty as you are, you risk us all," Jordan explained furiously. "You are young enough that blood lust can be seconds away from translating into Blood Rage, which is incredibly dangerous to counteract, especially when you are so far from Father. You risk exposing the Pure Bloods because you may not be capable of controlling yourself in a crisis or when it is crucial that you act either like a human or like a regular, Turned vampire. If anything were to happen to me," he continued, "people would be looking to _you_ for leadership, and _you'd_ be too interested in your next meal to be of assistance. You could very easily have turned on a Faithful, breaking the Faithful Code, which would result in a severe political and physical backlash. It is your responsibility, not only as a vampire, but as the Second Heir of Lord Nichelle, that you maintain full control of yourself, regardless of your age or feelings on the matter. Furthermore," Jordan lectured, "you risk embarrassment and damage to your reputation if you continue acting in the manner I was privy to hearing a few moments ago." As he said this, his eye flicked momentarily to Lawrence. By the look in them, he'd be receiving a tongue lashing later. Jordan however turned his hardened gaze back to his thoroughly cowed sister. "When we reach Cordalla," Jordan continued, "I will not have the time to baby-sit you to the extent that it appears you require. I will be informing Maggie that I will be holding her personally responsible if I _ever_ hear of a situation like this again, do you understand?"

Elaina was trembling by this point, "Please don't blame the others," she begged weakly, "this was my fault. I wasn't telling anybody anything. Please don't punish them for my mistakes."

Jordan and Elaina stared at each other for a few moments. Elaina's gaze was imploring and desperate; Jordan's gaze was livid and cold. "We will speak no more of this," Jordan decreed quietly, his voice even and calm. "Come," he said, gripping his sister by the elbow, leading her to the door, "we'll be landing in a few minutes."


	46. Cordalla Arrival

**_Only a little over a week later, and i have an update! That's pretty good, considering my track record..._**

**_Thank you to everyone who reviewed and was so enthusiastic for the last update! It must have been a surprise for those of you to get your Story Alerts on the last chapter, as you probably gave up on me long ago! Thanks again for keeping the faith people! Enjoy...(and reviews are always appreciated!)_**

Elaina sat dejectedly in her seat across from her silent, and furious, brother. After ordering her to return to her seat, Jordan had locked himself in the tiny conference room with Lawrence, and had proceeded to verbally assault him for losing his composure. Elaina hadn't been able to hear anything through the soundproof walls, but the pair of them were in there until well after the pilot announced their imminent landing, which occurred about ten minutes after Elaina had resumed her seat. When the door opened, Elaina forced herself not to stare back down the aisle, but she couldn't help looking up when Lawrence walked past. As he walked further forward to his seat, he turned slightly and gave Elaina a small smile, assuring her he was alright. Jordan dropped into the seat across from her, glared, and had been giving her the silent treatment since.

Doing her best to ignore her brother's cold demeanour, Elaina focused her attention to the window she was sitting beside. Cordalla was coming into view, its lights twinkling brightly through the rain. By studying the lights below them, she was able to determine that they were heading to a rather large airport. She was about to comment on the fact that it would be risky to land in such a heavily secured place, when she remembered two things. First was that her brother may not appreciate her attempt at breaking the ice he had so furiously created between the two of them. And second was a memory of her lessons at the Academy. Cordalla was entirely run by the League of Nichelle. It had been for almost two hundred years now. Nephrita and Haljir were nowhere near as secure as Cordalla. They'd only been free of the presence of the Organization for a few decades, at most.

There were few cities that actually were completely out of the control of the Organization, most having strong pockets of the Organization well entrenched into the fabric of the city, if they didn't control it entirely. In the cities under Organization control, there were secret compounds where vampire Leagues lived, plotting and scheming until the Agents infiltrated and eliminated them. Venisa was one of these sorts of cities. There was also a vicious turf war going on between the League of Nichelle and the League of Danall there. The city was essentially permanently divided into three factions, each sympathizing with one of the three regimes. Cordalla, however, had no such problem. It was the League of Nichelle that had ultimate control, and the Organization was trying, with highly limited success, to infiltrate and shake them loose.

It was for this reason that landing at the city's major airport was not as risky as it first seemed. No one would outright attack and search the Nichelle plane because everyone in the city _worked_ _for_ the League of Nichelle. That was how things appeared at least. It was quite likely that there was an underground ring of Organization supporters, maybe a freelance rebellion secretly being supported by the Organization, operating in Cordalla. Elaina would be surprised if there wasn't. Civilians were always restless, expecting and demanding things that were unreasonable or downright stupid. However, appeasing to the locals was how insurgent powers, such as the League of Nichelle, were able to take control.

The Organization had immense power. They were above local governments on issues concerning vampires. Basically, there were two forces that ruled a city not run by vampires. The first force was the governing body, which oversaw taxes, education, health care, and things such as that. The second force was the Organization. They demanded at least one child from every family enter the Academy. They enforced laws, most of them established by the Organization. Citizen rights were essentially void if there was any suspicion of a vampire sympathizer in the immediate family unit. If one member of the family was found guilty of being a Faithful, their spouse, parents, children, siblings and the children of their siblings, were all arrested and ruthlessly questioned.

Apparently, in vampire run cities, life was much better. Rumour was that, so long as there were no blatant moves to harm the ruling League, citizens were generally safe. There were however mandatory blood donations, and sometimes people would simply disappear. But in vampire controlled cities, if you worked for them, you were safer than if you worked against them. People scrambled to be given official Faithful positions, so that they could be protected by the Faithful Code. The Faithful Code prevented any vampire from feeding from a Faithful without the explicit and informed permission of said Faithful. Vampires who broke the Faithful Code were severely punished by both their peers and their superiors. Thus these positions were worth their weight in gold.

Their landing was rough. The plane bounced twice before settling and Elaina was jolted in her seat when they came to an abrupt stop. As soon as they were settled, Jordan rose to his feet and explained, "I've relieved Nikoli Marchette from your service. I feel he is better placed elsewhere. His brothers Colin and Kegan are welcome to remain with you, should you so choose. I am taking him on as my own bodyguard, as he had proved himself valiantly."

Elaina was only momentarily confused. She realized that he'd pitched his voice so that the other passengers could hear, and took this as a sign that he wasn't going to inform their father of her indiscretion with the bodyguard. Elaina smiled gratefully and replied, "Marchette will serve you well."

Jordan nodded stiffly. "Stay with Maggie until you are sent for, alright?" he ordered. "Let us hope that there are no mishaps between now and when I next see you." He quirked an eyebrow and gave her a loaded look.

Elaina nodded, knowing once again what he was implying. "See you later, Jordan," she said, more formally than felt natural when addressing one's brother. Jordan nodded stiffly again and swept off with his entourage, leaving Elaina on the plane with her posse.

Maggie reappeared a moment later, informing her aunt, "As you've been deprived of your sole bodyguard for the time being, Victor and Pete will be taking Marchette's place. Master Neskab already has his own personal bodyguards with him, so when you're with him, which will likely be often, you'll be under their protection as well."

Pete appeared at that moment with a rather large grin on his face. "I don't know about you, but I'm super excited that Nikoli got the boot," he said jovially.

Elaina laughed and asked, "And why would that be?"

Maggie rolled her eyes and stated, "This idiot's been trying to become a bodyguard for years. He seems to think it'd be really fun. He wants to guard the high profile figures, because the guards see a lot of action typically. But I doubt, even if he _was_ given a bodyguard position, he wouldn't be charged with protecting someone of _your_ rank. So this really is a dream come true for him." Pete shot his sister a dirty look.

"I dunno Pete," Victor said, joining them in the aisle, "I think you need to learn to be a little quieter if you want to be a bodyguard. They're generally seen and not heard. In fact, they are so silent, one is supposed to forget they're there." He dropped into the seat next to Elaina's before adding, "I don't think you could go for five minutes without cracking some sort of joke, or making an ass of yourself, which would _definitely_ piss off a client."

Pete made a face and gave his cousin and sister the finger, before quickly dropping his hands behind his back with a sheepish look, muttering, "Sorry Miss Elaina." The other two howled with laugher, and Elaina couldn't help the chuckle that burst from her.

Still laughing, Maggie put her arm around her brother and assured Elaina, "Don't worry; you'll only be stuck with this idiot for a few days. I'm sure that your Father won't permit his only daughter to be guarded by this buffoon."

Pete looked annoyed and gestured at his cousin. "How come you're not making such a big deal out of Victor being bodyguard?" he asked peevishly.

Victor raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Perhaps it's because I _am_ a bodyguard," he pointed out. "I did guard Aunt Kyra before her plane was shot down, and a bodyguard can really do jack all when his client's transport is blown out of the sky at twenty thousand feet." He turned and addressed his aunt, "Kyra Nichelle was your older sister. But she was assassinated about thirty years ago, and I've been out of a job since. Which is ridiculous because I wasn't even there when she died. If I had been, I would be dead too, and my son Michael wouldn't have been born. And if Michael wouldn't have been born, I wouldn't have become a grandpa again." He turned to Maggie, "By the way, Michael had a Contract with Jolene Hammond, and they just had a baby girl. Named her Kelly."

"Oh congratulations," Maggie cooed. "Michael must be ecstatic."

"Oh he is," Victor replied with a hint of amused exasperation, "He's been texting me all week about how she has such tiny toes and fingers." He snorted.

"You're a grandfather?" Elaina asked hesitantly. Her ego lowered a notch. She felt like such a little girl at that moment.

Victor sensed the sudden change in emotion and said, "Hey, don't you worry about that sort of thing, Elaina. I've only got three kids, and I only have four grandchildren from all of them. Maggie's the oldest of us, and because she's of higher rank she has more kids, but she's only got five." Elaina didn't feel very comforted, and Victor could see that, so he went on to explain, "It's just because you were Awoken so young that you're entering a Contract now. Usually, parents wait to Awaken their child because they don't want to have them deal with this first Time. It's frustrating to deal with, as a parent, and they'd prefer it if their offspring had a little more self control before being presented with an infant. Everyone's first Time would fall at around twenty, give or take a few years. It all depends on how old they were when they hit puberty."

"Aw hell Elaina," Pete said, "we're not _that_ old either. I mean, Maggie's pushing 150, but other than that," he shrugged. "I'm the youngest of us, and I've only got two kids, and I'm only sixty."

Elaina made a face, "I'm nineteen," she pointed out. "I feel like I'm being babysat right now."

Pete snorted, "If that's how you want to see it, go ahead," he said with a shrug. "I'd personally feel pretty sweet having people so much older at my beck and call. I'd see it more as being executive, as opposed to babysitting. I assure you," he leaned down a bit, bracing his hand on the back of Victor's seat, "you're much more interesting to be around than _babysitting_ entails. Hell, you're _Lady Elaina Nichelle_!" he exclaimed. "Do you realize how many people are going to be kissing ass to _babysit_ you? I mean, you're _Lady Nichelle_! _Babysitting_ you is the biggest honour any of us will probably ever get. I don't even know how I got so lucky," he added.

Maggie and Victor nodded emphatically. At that moment, Kegan Marchette approached, saying, "We should probably get going now ma'am. We've given Lord Jordan ample time to reach the compound safely. The cars are waiting just outside."

Elaina nodded and got to her feet, waving him past, saying, "lead on." She followed Kegan to the back of the plane, descending down the stairs to the tarmac. Before them were three nondescript black SUVs with tinted windows that were most likely made out of the best bulletproof glass available. Elaina climbed into the back seat of the one parked farthest to the left, with Victor sliding in next to her as Pete claimed the passenger seat. The rest of Elaina's posse distributed themselves among the remaining two cars, and with smooth efficiency, the convoy pulled away from the plane.

They'd been driving for a few moments in silence when Pete turned around in his seat and asked Elaina, "So what's Venisa like?"

Elaina had been about to answer when Victor interrupted in an irritated tone, "Pete, if you have any aspiration to become a bodyguard, the golden rule is that you _do not_ make small talk with the client when your energy would be better spent watching rooftops for snipers. Although the client may be interesting to talk to, they become _far less _interesting when they have a bullet in their skull because you were too focused on lame questions like 'what's Venisa like?'" As he said all this, he had been doing the very thing he was berating his cousin for. He had his head tilted so he could watch the rooftops and windows of the buildings they were driving past.

Elaina smiled slightly at the apologetic look Pete shot her before he turned around. She agreed with Victor's lecture. Her years of training made her also look instinctively upwards and around the car, surveying for signs of trouble. She'd learned long ago that people overlooked and dismissed things that a different pair of eyes would catch. When it comes to safety, the best person to rely on, when possible, was oneself. It's all well and good to blame someone for not watching your back, but that was also your responsibility.

The rest of the drive was spent in silence; chosen by Victor, Elaina and the driver, and imposed upon Pete. The other cars of the convoy split off in different directions, creating confusion for a potential tail. Elaina's car parked in an underground garage and she waited for Victor to walk around the car to open her door. She was quickly getting used to the idea of bodyguards, and the looks and lectures given by Marchette were enough that she remembered she was not supposed to open her own door because snipers were given a clear target. Victor walked quickly around the car, his eyes roving around the empty garage, watching for signs of trouble. When he reached Elaina's door, he paused again, doing another sweep of the area with his eyes. Only then did he open the door, and it was only partially, standing in a manner that would almost entirely prevent an open shot. As soon as Elaina stepped out of the car, Victor took her by the elbow and led her at a brisk pace to an elevator. The driver had run ahead and queued the elevator for them, so the doors dinged open as they were reaching them. Victor pulled his aunt off to the side as the driver poked his head into the elevator, inspecting it for traps. Stepping in, he closed the doors, and then opened them again, walking out. As Elaina walked past him, guided by Victor, the driver smiled courteously and said, "Have a good day ma'am." He bowed slightly and returned to his car.

Pete followed Elaina into the elevator. Victor had pushed her off to the side so that she was not standing directly before the doors. As the doors dinged shut, Pete asked, "Why was he playing with the doors?"

Victor rolled his eyes, "Because he was seeing if there was a bomb in place that was triggered by the elevator doors closing. If there had been, we wouldn't have found out with the client in harm's way. What he also should have done was travel down a floor, then back up to ours; that way he would have been assured that there hadn't been any tampering with the brakes. Normally I would have insisted, however, I didn't want our client out in the open like she was, and the greatest we'd fall is four stories, which wouldn't harm us."

"Oh," Pete simply said as the concept dawned on him. He pressed the appropriate floor button for his cousin and leaned against the wall, facing the door.

Victor rolled his eyes in exasperation and snapped, "Get the hell out of the middle of the doorway. If someone is waiting for us, the first thing they'll do is shoot into the compartment as the doors are opening. And you're an even shittier bodyguard if you're dead."

Pete looked embarrassed and moved to stand next to Elaina. Elaina felt some sympathy for him, but not very much. She knew everything that Victor had just said, and would have felt just as frustrated if she were in his place. She'd hated working with unthinking Agents, because they caused a lot of accidents. She noticed with approval that Victor had yet to say her name, and was merely addressing her as `the client.` It was a prudent move, as Elaina Nichelle was supposed to be dead.

Elaina did notice that they were taking the elevator down as opposed to up. The garage they`d pulled into had been under a high-rise skyscraper, Elaina had assumed they`d be going to one of the upper floors. However, they were passing deeper and deeper underground. When they came to a halt and the doors slid open, Victor strode out first, looking from left to right several times before striding back into the elevator and taking Elaina`s arm. He half pulled her along, pausing when he reached the doors to look left and right again, before proceeding down the hallway to the left of the elevator.

The three of them walked in silence through a labyrinth of twists and turns and corners. Elaina was officially lost by the time they came to a halt before a door that appeared to be made of reinforced steel. The vents on either side of the door most likely held a nasty gaseous surprise for anyone who attempted to force the door. There was a fingerprint scanner next to the door, as well as a retina scanner, which Victor approached, breaking the silence for the first time to say, "I wish that we didn't have to go to such elaborate security lengths. However, if we do wish to remain undiscovered, certain sacrifices must be made." There must have also been a voice recognition requirement, because the door slid open only after he'd spoken, despite giving his fingerprints and retina scan.

Beyond the door was another elevator, one that required Victor to slice open his finger and press against a little sensor before it would open. He sucked on his finger as he checked the inside of the elevator. Victor selected the appropriate floor once they'd all entered the elevator, and the doors slid shut. Elaina felt the lift moving horizontally before it jerked upwards. It was very fast moving because she felt the pressure of its rapid acceleration and deceleration before they came to a stop. The doors dinged open to reveal an empty corridor with dark red carpet, and cream coloured walls with handsome wood panelling to about waist height. As soon as they exited the elevator, the doors slid noiselessly shut, leaving no indication of their presence. Victor led them to the right and they rounded a corner, coming face to face with a rather threatening looking man in a black suit.

"State your business," the man said brusquely. He was wearing sunglasses, so it was hard to tell where his eyes were focused, but Elaina was fairly certain that they were sweeping between her and her companions.

Pete grinned and asked, "Jack, when did you get all bad-ass? And when did we need to tell you what we're doing?"

"Standard security," the man replied shortly with a shrug. Elaina realized then that he wasn't being overtly suspicious, he was just bored. She instantly felt annoyed. This was most likely the entrance to someone's personal quarters, possibly even her father's. However infrequently the entrance was used, the security personnel had to be constantly vigilant. It was something she'd drilled into the students she'd had when she'd shortly taught for the Organization. Her classes weren't even finished when James, Tsar and Ashmore had kidnapped her.

Without another word, the Jack stepped over to the door and swiped his key-card through a slot next to it. There was an electronic beep and a quiet clunk, and the door swung inwards. He stepped aside and let the three pass through without any sort of explanation or hindrance. _Great security here_, Elaina thought peevishly, _I feel incredibly safe now_.

Victor led them through a maze of identical corridors before coming to stop before a pair of double doors that were painted white and had gold accenting on them, like every other door they passed. Beyond here was another elevator, which they climbed into and rose for only about ten seconds. When the doors slid noiselessly open, they were standing in a large, luxurious foyer.

Elaina could tell that she'd entered a "richer" part of the compound. The floor appeared to be marble, the three small tables, each bearing a vase of flowers, were made of a dark, polished wood, and the armchair and loveseat that sat off to one side were made of dark leather. The ceiling was a solid mirror, and there was a crystal chandelier hanging from it. A man in a suit better tailored and of a better material than the last man they'd seen, stood before the double doors at the opposite end of the foyer.

"The Lords Nichelle are indisposed at the moment and aren't accepting visitors," the man in the suit said. His tone implied that he was the person who would deal quite thoroughly with any unwanted visitors.

"We aren't visiting," Victor said. "We are expected by Lord Jordan as well."

The man cocked an eyebrow. "Please, have as seat as I verify that," he gestured to the chairs next to the elevator doors. As Elaina sat down with Pete, Victor remaining on his feet, the man lifted the receiver on the telephone on the table next to the door. He spoke quietly enough that Elaina couldn't catch what he was saying, but he seemed satisfied when he hung up. Stepping away from the phone, he said, "My apologies for the inconvenience ma'am. I wasn't informed of your arrival." With that he turned and opened the door for them, standing aside so they could pass through.

The doors had barely closed behind them when an unfamiliar voice greeted them. "Well if this isn't a magnificent day for the Nichelle dynasty, then I don't know what would qualify as one," the man said, striding towards them. He stopped before them, beaming. "Elaina, I never thought I'd see you again." He laughed, and threw his arms around her suddenly, "But then again, I guess I've never actually met you yet!" He stepped back from his embrace and extended his hand, "Henrik Nichelle," he introduced. "I am the youngest son of Zachariah Nichelle. It's good to be a big brother again." He grinned widely and shook Elaina's hand with zeal.


End file.
